January
100-day Challenge
Keep working on your practice charts. You can still do this challenge.
Start at any time! Download this chart or make your own.
Students who have completed the 100-day practice chart
Composer of the month
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770-1827
9 Variations for Piano on a March of Dressler, Beethoven’s first published work.
“Pathetique” Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor
“Hammerklavier” Piano Sonata No. 29 in Bb Major
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, first movement
String Quartet 131 in C# Minor, from Beethoven’s Late Period
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, fourth movement
On the cover:
The picture on the cover of Piano Explorer this month is of the Beethoven Monument in Bonn, Germany. It was unveiled on 12 August 1845, in honor of the 75th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Franz Liszt was very important in making this statue possible. He gave his own money and also organized concerts to raise more money to pay for the statue. For the occasion, Franz Liszt composed and conducted his "Cantata for the inauguration of the Beethoven Monument."
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
1778-1837
Trumpet Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Minor
Clarinet Quartet in Eb Major
Serenade in G Major for Piano, Violin, Guitar, Clarinet, and Bassoon:
The Scherzo
Beethoven, 5th Symphony, Movement 2
Beethoven, 6th Symphony, Movement 3
Beethoven, “Moonlight” Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# Minor, Movement 2
Frederic Chopin, Scherzo Op.20 No.1 in B Minor
Henryk Wieniawski, Scherzo-Tarantella in G Minor, Op. 16:
John Williams wrote Scherzo for X-Wings for the film score for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
The Trumpet
Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb Major, performed by Alison Balson
J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor performed by an Oklahoma State University trumpet quintet
(At the beginning, the one on the left is a piccolo trumpet, and the one in the middle is a flugelhorn – both are instruments that trumpet players might also play.)
About the trumpet
The Sant Andreu Jazz Band (a talented ensemble from Barcelona with students aged 7-20) playing Easy Money. There is a jazz trumpet solo around 1:20.