Reconnaissance by robert schumann biography wikipedia
Schumann resonances
Global electromagnetic resonances, generated and excited by lightning discharges
The Schumann resonances (SR) are a set of spectral peaks in the extremely low frequency portion of the Earth's electromagnetic field spectrum. Schumann resonances are global electromagnetic resonances, generated and excited by lightning discharges in the cavity formed by the Earth's surface and the ionosphere.
Description
The global electromagnetic resonance phenomenon is named after physicist Winfried Otto Schumann who predicted it mathematically in 1952. Schumann resonances are the principal background in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum from 3 Hz through 60 Hz and appear as distinct peaks at extremely low frequencies around 7.83 Hz (fundamental), 14.3, 20.8, 27.3, and 33.8 Hz.
Schumann resonances occur because the space between the surface of the Earth and the conductive ionosphere acts as a closed, although variable-sized, waveguide. The limited dimensions of the Earth cause this waveguide to act as a resonant cavity for electromagnetic waves in the extremely low frequency band. The cavity is naturally excited by electric currents in lightning.
In the normal mode descriptions of Schumann resonances, the fundamental mode is a standing wave in the Earth–ionosphere cavity with a wavelength equal to the circumference of the Earth. The lowest-frequency mode has the highest intensity, and the frequency of all modes can vary slightly owing to solar-induced perturbations to the ionosphere (which compress the upper wall of the closed cavity) amongst other factors. The higher resonance modes are spaced at approximately 6.5 Hz intervals (as may be seen by feeding numbers into the formula), a characteristic attributed to the atmosphere's spherical geometry. The peaks exhibit a spectral width of approximately 20% due to the damping of the res
Piano Concerto (Grieg)
1868 piano concerto by Edvard Grieg
| Piano Concerto | |
|---|---|
The opening bars of the piano part | |
| Key | A minor |
| Opus | 16 |
| Period | Romantic |
| Composed | 1868 (1868) |
| Movements | 3 |
| Date | 3 April 1869 (1869-04-03) |
| Location | Copenhagen |
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works, and is among the most popular of the genre. Grieg, who was only 24 years old at the time of the composition, had taken inspiration from Robert Schumann's piano concerto (Op.54), also in A minor.
Structure
The concerto is in three movements:
- Allegro molto moderato (A minor)
- The first movement is in sonata form and is noted for the timpani roll in its first bar that leads to a dramatic piano flourish, which leads to the main theme.
- Then the key changes to C major, for the secondary theme. Later, the secondary theme appears again in the recapitulation, but this time in the key of A major. The movement finishes with a virtuosic cadenza and a flourish similar to that at the start of the movement.
- Adagio (D♭ major)
- The second movement is a lyrical movement in D♭ major, which leads directly into the third movement. The movement is in ternary form (A–B–A). The B section is in D♭ major and E major, then returns to D♭ major for the reprise of the piano.
- Allegro moderato molto e marcato – Quasi presto – Andante maestoso (A minor → F major → A minor → A major)
- The third movement opens in A minor
4 time with an energetic theme (Theme 1), which is influenced by the Norwegian Halling dance:- It is followed by a lyrical theme in F major (Theme 2). The movement returns to Theme 1. Following this recapitulation is the
4 A major Quasi presto section, which consists of a variation of Theme 1. The movement concludes with the Andante maestosoAlan Walker (musicologist)
English-Canadian musicologist (born 1930)
Alan Walker, FRSC (born 6 April 1930) is an English–Canadian musicologist and university professor best known as a biographer and scholar of composer Franz Liszt. Walker has also written on composers Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin, as well as conductor Hans von Bülow. He has held posts at a variety of institutions, including the Guildhall School of Music, the University of London, McMaster University, and City, University of London.
Biography
Walker was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. He received an LGSM certificate in 1949,ARCM in 1950, a Bachelor of Music from University of Durham in 1956, and a Doctor of Music in 1965. Between 1957 and 1960 he studied privately with Hans Keller, an association which he has always acknowledged as formative. These lessons were resumed, albeit irregularly, once Walker joined Keller at the BBC in 1961.
From 1958 to 1961 Walker lectured at the Guildhall School of Music, having studied piano there with Alfred Nieman, noted for teaching improvisational techniques. He also taught at the University of London from 1954 to 1960. Walker worked at the BBC Radio Music Division as a producer between 1961 and 1971. Seeking to return to his "first love", teaching, he gave up radio production and took an appointment as Professor of Music at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he chaired the department of music from 1971 to 1980, and from 1989 to 1995. In 1981, he was responsible for the establishment at McMaster of the first graduate program in music criticism in Canada. Since 1995, he has been professor emeritus at McMaster. From 1984 to 1987, he was a distinguished visiting professor of music at City University in London.
His
Carnaval (Schumann)
Work for piano composed by Robert Schumann
Carnaval, Op. 9, is a work by Robert Schumann for piano solo, written in 1834–1835 and subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of 21 short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival, a festival before Lent. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell'arte). He dedicated the work to the violinist Karol Lipiński.
Background
Carnaval had its origin in a set of variations on a Sehnsuchtswalzer by Franz Schubert, whose music Schumann had discovered only in 1827. The catalyst for writing the variations may have been a work for piano and orchestra by Schumann's close friend Ludwig Schuncke, a set of variations on the same Schubert theme. Schumann felt that Schuncke's heroic treatment was an inappropriate reflection of the tender nature of the Schubert piece, so he set out to approach his variations in a more intimate way, working on them in 1833 and 1834.
Schumann's work was never completed, however, and Schuncke died in December 1834, but he did re-use the opening 24 measures for the opening of Carnaval. Pianist Andreas Boyde has since reconstructed the original set of variations from Schumann's manuscript (published by Hofmeister Musikverlag), premiered this reconstruction in New York and recorded it for Athene Records. Romanian pianist Herbert Schuch has also recorded this reconstruction, with his own editorial emendations, for the Oehms Classics label.
The 21 pieces are connected by a recurring motif. The four notes are encoded puzzles, and Schumann predicted that "deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you." In each section of Carnaval there appears one or both of two series of musical notes. These are musical cryptograms, as follows:
- A, E♭, C, B – German: A–Es–C–H (the Es is
- The third movement opens in A minor