7 Pieces of Chamber Music YOU should Listen to this Week

Hello everyone! On Saturday, I am turning pages for my piano teacher when he performs with the Lenape Chamber Ensemble. As a result, I have decided that it might be fun to share 7 Pieces of Chamber Music YOU should Listen to this Week. Let's get into the list:

7. String Quartet (Op. 76, No. 2) in d minor - Joseph Haydn

It is always nice to kick of a list with Haydn. Haydn was one of the first composers to write "classical" String Quartets. One of the interesting thing about the Opus 76 String Quartets is that they are the last complete set which Haydn composed. While he composed these String Quartets, he was also working on his masterpiece oratorio "The Creation." Anyway, here is the second String Quartet from Haydn's last batch of String Quartets performed by the Cleveland String Quartet.

6. Violin Sonata no. 8 in G Major (Movement 1) - Ludwig Van Beethoven

This is certainly my favorite movement of this sonata. It is just so jolly and uplifting. It is a Sonata Allegro movement, and was composed between 1801 and 1802. It really does sound like early Beethoven. There are sections (such as the "stormy section" in the development) that sound completely like Beethoven. Then there are sections that sound completely like Mozart or Haydn (such as a lot of the exposition [specifically the first them]). Anyway, here is the first movement of Beethoven's 8th Violin Sonata performed by Barbara Govatos (Violin) and Marcantonio Barone (Piano).

5. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This is probably the most cliche piece of chamber music there is. It is also probably one of the most famous. Anyway, it is a fun little serenade. The title means "A Little Night Music" in English. An interesting fact about this piece is that it was not published until after his death (in 1827) by someone who had bought it from Mozart's wife in 1799. Anyway, here is the piece performed by the Slovak Chamber Orchestra:

4. Horn Sonata in F Major (Op. 17) - Ludwig Van Beethoven

As a horn player, of course I had to include this early work of Beethoven's. One thing I found interesting when researching this was a quote by a critic regarding the premiere performance of this piece (in 1800) with Beethoven on Piano and the famous Giovanni Punto on horn. The critic wrote:

"Who is this Beethoven? His name is not known to us. Of course, Punto is very well known."

He would come to realize who Beethoven is. This is a neat little piece which I am sure still brings excitement to chamber enthusiasts to this day! Here is the piece performed by Barry Tuckwell (horn) and (possibly, it is listed in the comments) Vladmir Ashkenazy (Piano).

3. Horn Trio in E-flat Major (Op. 40) - Johannes Brahms

This was one of my first theory listening assignments. It is interesting that I now know two out of three of these performers (when I listened to it two years ago, I had no idea who they were). These two are Perlman (Violin) and Barenboim (Piano). One of the interesting things I learned about Brahms when researching this is that he had learned natural horn (along with Piano and Cello) at a young age. This means that Brahms was a hornist. I always wondered why Brahms would have chosen the Horn for this trio, now I have an answer. Here is the piece performed by Clevenger (Horn), Perlman (Violin), and Barenboim (Piano).

2. Violin Sonata in B Minor (BWV 1014) - Johann Sebastian Bach

One off the interesting things about the Sonatas from this time is that they would have been completely different from a "classical" sonata. Many of the forms used in these sonatas would not have been established yet. So I think of this as an example of how chamber music would have traditionally sounded. In Bach's time, the two most popular arenas for music would have been the church and the chamber. So, music like this was almost certainly in demand. I have to say that my favorite movement is the second. Here is the Bach Violin Sonata in B Minor performed by Rachel Podger (Violin) and Trevor Pinnock (Harpsichord):

1. String Octet in E-flat Major (Op. 20) - Felix Mendelssohn

I love this piece! I own the full score for it and should really upload a detailed harmonic analysis of the first movement (or something). Even though I have listened to this piece a lot, it is still hard to believe that this piece was written by a sixteen year old kid. My theory teacher often states that he believes that this is Mendelssohn's masterpiece. I'd also like to point out that around 2:14 you can hear the same theme as in "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor." Here is the Mendelssohn String Octet performed by Jascha Heifetz (violin), Arnold Belnick (violin), Israel Baker (violin), Joseph Stepansky (violin), William Primrose (viola), Virginia Majewski (viola), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), and Gabor Rejto (cello).

Sources

All Previous Weekly7s

Schedule (hopefully)

Friday - Tuesday: "The Wealth of Nations" review
Wednesday: Break/Free write day
Thursday: Weekly7

Playlists

7 Pieces of Chamber Music (7/5/18)

Closing

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoy this list. I am adding two new precedents. If you wish to listen to these pieces, above is a section which contains the playlist that contains all of the recordings listed in this video (and will contain future playlists). I will also be leaving a comment on all of the YouTube videos used in this list linking to this article and acknowledging my use of their video. As always, please remember that feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice night!

Also remember to check for: My weekly 7 post, As well as my composer birthday posts (Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving "spammy" comments.