Composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I guess you could say I’ve been busy I have news of one more upcoming recording release to share with everyone. Along with guitarist Greg Nestor, I’ve recorded Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 5 and 6 and will be releasing it for download on August 1, 2013.
Most people know at least one of these lively folk tunes – No. 5 is the most popular, but not many people may know that there are 21 folk dances total. Brahms Hungarian Dances were completed by the great German composer in 1869 and were definitely his most popular compositions in his lifetime. The pieces were introduced shortly after his first widely-recognized piece, A German Requiem, and solidified his fame in Europe.
As I mentioned, the Hungarian Dance No. 5 is probably the most popular of the 21 short compositions. It’s a lively piece, but here’s an interesting fact – Brahms did not write the orchestration of this most famous piece, nor for many of the other Hungarian Dances. Other composers like Antonín Dvo?ák did that, since Brahms only wrote most of them for piano.
Here’s another interesting fact about Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 – it was featured in a famous scene from the Charlie Chaplain film The Great Dictator. You can see the famous scene on YouTube.
Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy my recording when it comes out on August 1, 2013. Please keep checking my blog and website for more recording news.
