Suite in G minor, BWV 822 V. Menuet III
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Notebook for Anna Magdelena Bach (1725) Menuet, BWV Anhang 116
Notebook compiled by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) *Menuet sometimes attributed to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788)
Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Largo ma non tanto
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Additional Performances
Bow Technique Demonstration
“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” Theme and Variations
Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998)
Theme from “Für Elise”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Humoresques, Op. 101 Poco lento e graziosol
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Largo ma non tanto
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Composed in 1970 by José Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad” is one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs. The lyrics are straightforward, “Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad” (“Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness”), but the rhythm and melody are catchy, making the song just as popular during the holiday season now as it was almost 45 years ago.
“Long, Long Ago” Theme and Variation
Thomas Haynes Bayley (1797–1839)
Written in 1833 by English poet and composer Thomas Haynes Bayly, “Long, Long Ago” (initially titled “The Long Ago”) was a massive hit, eventually becoming one of the most popular songs in the United States. The song tells of the singer’s lost, and newly returned, love and his wistful remembrances of their time together. It’s also known as the basis for the 1942 Glen Miller song, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)”.
Pieces for one and two violins 24. Rondeau
Marin Marais (1656–1728), dedicated to Jean-Baptiste Lully
Marin Marais was a student of the famous Jean-Baptiste Lully, who was the court composer for Louis XIV, the Sun King. Lully is considered one of the great masters of the Baroque period and his influence as a composer of ballets drastically altered the popular dances of the day, from more stately and slow to lively, upbeat gavottes, menuets, and more. Along with his instrumental work and operas, he also collaborated with Molière to create comedy ballets, which combined comedic theater with dance and music. While Lully is often credited with this piece, it was actually composed by Marais, who dedicated the collection of pieces from which it is taken to his teacher.
Humoresques for Piano, Op. 101 Poco lento e grazioso Antonín Dvořák (1841–1901)
Composed by Dvořák during the summer of 1894 as the seventh movement of a cycle of humoresques, this piece is considered, along with Für Elise, to be one of the most famous small piano works ever written. This humoresque is also known as the setting for a series of humorous verses encouraging passengers on trains to exercise restraint, “Passengers will please refrain/From flushing toilets while the train/is standing in the station”.
Additional Performances
Theme from “Für Elise”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 V. Gavotte II (ou la Musette)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
VI Menuets for Clavier (WoO 10) No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Concertino in D Major, Op. 15 Allegro moderato Siciliano larghetto Allegro assai
Ferdinand Küchler (1867–1937)
Abdelazer, or The Moor’s Revenge is a 1676 adaptation by Aphra Behn of an English Renaissance tragedy written around 1600. The story centers on Eleazar, a prince and prisoner of the Spanish Court who attempts unsuccessfully to seize the Spanish crown, resulting in his death and that of many others. When the play was staged in the summer of 1695, famed British composer Henry Purcell wrote incidental music to accompany it, with the Rondeau written to be the opening music, after the Ouverture. This rondeau was then used by Benjamin Britten as the theme for his The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and has been featured frequently in film and television, including Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).
English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 V. Gavotte II (ou la Musette)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
A musette, or musette de cour or baroque musette, is a musical instrument similar to bagpipes. It uses a double reed, giving it a quieter sound, similar to the oboe, and was associated with the French court and aristocracy of the early 17th century, when “exotic” and traditional instruments were considered fashionable. After the French Revolution, the rather complicated French musette fell out of favor quickly while simpler forms of bagpipes remained popular as folk instruments.
Suite in G minor, BWV 822 Gavotte en Rondeau
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Originally composed for harpsichord, this gavotte en rondeau comes from the same suite as the famous minuet known in Suzuki Book 1 as Minuet 1. This suite shows Bach’s French influences. A gavotte en rondeau is a gavotte, a French folk dance characterized by beginning with a two-beat pickup, written as a rondeau, a musical form potentially based on the medieval poetic form of the same name. Rondeaus feature a recurring theme or refrain that repeats after several differing sections or themes.
Additional Performances
Bow Technique Demonstration
Jägerchor (“Hunters’ Chorus”) from Der Freischütz
Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)
Theme from La Streghe (“Witches’ Dance”)
Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840)
VI Menuets for Clavier (WoO 10) No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Humoresques for Piano, Op. 101 Poco lento e grazioso
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Theme from Le Streghe (“Witches’ Dance”)
Niccolò Paganini(1782–1840)
This piece is an arrangement by noted pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki of the theme from Paganini’s Le Streghe, a virtuosic theme and variations show piece. Paganini, considered one of the greatest violinists of all time, pioneered much of the technique used by violinists today and his 24 Caprices remain some of the most popular and studied pieces in the violin repertoire. He was also a consummate showman, with wild hair and a contorted posture that led audiences to rumor he’d sold his soul to the Devil to gain his amazing technical ability.
Sonatas for Organ and Cembalo No. 12: V. Gavotta
“Padre” Giovanni Battista Martini (1706–1784)
This piece is a gavotte in rondo form composed by the Italian musician and priest, Giovanni Battista Martini. Padre Martini was well-respected as both a performer and pedagogue and he had a passion for collecting music and musical literature. His extensive library was estimated to contain over 17,000 volumes. This piece blends elements of both rondos and gavottes. Rondos feature a principal theme which recurs several times in the piece, separated by various differing musical ideas and gavottes, French folk dances, are characterized by starting their phrases mid-bar, rather than on beat one.
Additional performances
Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725) 7. Menuet, BWV Anhang 116
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)* *Menuet sometimes attributed to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788)
Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725) 4. Menuet, BWV Anhang 114
Christian Petzold (1677–1733)
Album for the Young, Op. 68 10. Happy farmer, returning from work
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63, Act 3, No. 5: “See, the conqu’ring hero comes!”
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
“Long, Long Ago,” Theme and Variation
Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839)
Two Violin Duos, Op. 19 and 20 Allegretto
Charles Dancla (1817–1907)
Kate Kulzick, Violin 