Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Can someone identify this tune?

Does this ring a bell with anyone? Its a familiar early 19th century European solo piano composition - but I'm having trouble identifying the composer - and I'd really like to get ahold of the score. The melody of the opening bars is as follows:

cdeeag#ea / cdeeag#ea

Any help would be appreciated - THANKS !!

P.S. - Its not in the Barlow/Morgenstern Dictionary of Musical Themes

Can you give us more help on what's the rhythm?

No idea soz.

Did you try this? http://www.musipedia.org/melody_search.html

The first two notes are 8ths - the next five are quarters - and the final note is a half note.

Either 2/4 or 4/4 time. First two notes fall on the first beat.

Tempo is probably Allegretto

Thanks !

I did, but no definitive match was found (even assigning rhythm the lowest priority).

Yup - I struck out there as well.

this website is fantastic o_o

OK -- that all helps. I have a feeling we still won't get it, but.....maybe you can also tell us:

I'm assuming the first "a" is up from the e, not down? And then the next "e" is down from the g#? And the final "a" is down from the e?

And finally: Are you sure all the notes are exactly right? If not, we can start thinking about possible 'modifications.'

BTW....It feels familiar to me. That's why I'm pursuing it.

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this one Mark. I appreciate it.

The final "a" is up from the "e" - otherwise your assumptions are correct.

I heard a snippet of this piece being performed by the pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha in a 20 second excerpt from an hour-long DVD called "The Making of a Steinway." El Bacha is playing the replica of the 1836 Steinway Kitchen Piano which was built by Chris Maene. The video accompanies the display of the original instrument (on loan from Steinway in New York) here at the new Phoenix Musical Instrument Museum (where I've been volunteering). Anything I can find on the web regarding the video simply states that El Bacha is playing "early works" by Chopin. This may or may not be accurate. I've inquired to see if the museum itself owns a copy of the full DVD. Seems the key folks I need to talk to are on vacation. As a last resort I might order a copy myself. In the meantime I'll try to listen to the fragment again just to make sure I haven't remembered it incorrectly.

The piece is very familiar to me as well - but I hadn't heard it in years.

Best -

I'm still coming up empty. But here's a thought: I would have guessed it's more like mid- or late-19th century. And if the melody is exactly as you indicated, I would be shocked if it's Chopin, not just because it doesn't seem like his style but because I think I'd know if it were something of his.

I'm thinking something like Dvorak, Grieg, or a minor composer.

I think I know it!
Chopin's Rondo for Two Pianos
The theme you posted comes in at 3:15.

I love love love this piece, and actually bought the score about 10 years ago thinking maybe someday...

Is that it? (fingers crossed)

Looks like you nailed it!
(Shows what I know!)

HOW did you get it???

The notes are a little different than Carey said -- sounds like it's:
low a - e - e - high a - g# -- e -- high a (and a little later, when it gets repeated, the first note is indeed c, as Carey said)

But I can't use that as a reason why I thought it wasn't Chopin -- I just don't know the piece. (Although indeed it's the 'wrong' notes at the beginning that made it seem Czech or Norwegian or something like that.) It's pretty common to remember melodies like this a little bit wrong -- I do all the time -- which was what made me wonder.

Like I said, Mark, I just love this piece. I heard it for the first time about 10 years ago, a recording that blew me away. I listened to it so many times that it's one of those pieces that's etched into my brain forever.

Don't feel bad about not knowing it. It's not exactly a mainstream piece, I suppose partially because it requires two pianos and plus, it's difficult.

A catchy tune, though. I guess carey thought so too!

How did you come across the piece at all? Most of us probably haven't. (Although....I think I did either hear it or look through it, years ago, probably just once.)

Heidi -

You nailed it - BLESS YOU !!!!

Thanks so much!! (Mark - you too !!!)

There must be a solo piano arrangement of this - I'll investigate. The overall Rondo sounds more than a bit challenging - so I may end up simply learning excerpts - but we'll see.

This is definitely not mainstream - but it is familiar - and the theme sounds like eastern European folk music - which makes sense, given that Chopin was from Poland !!!

Sorry I flubbed the opening notes - I wrote the theme down from memory a couple of hours after hearing it at the museum.

[Edit: Actually I was correct - the initial c and d are part of the accompaniment].

The Museum curators are off the hook.

Thanks again - you folks are terrific !!!!

FYI - "Frederic Chopin's Rondo Op.73 for two pianos, four-hands was originally conceived for solo piano. The composer, perhaps unconvinced by the original version, later revised it for two pianos. This was Chopin's only dabble with the two-piano genre."

Quite honestly, I'm surprised that this work isn't better known.

carey and heidiv: I sent you a PM (and would have done to Mark_C as well if he accepted them).

Why not say it on here?

http://klasikal.com/frederic-chopin-rondo-op-posth-73-in-c-major-for-two-pianos/

Here's a link to another (exquisite) performance - audio is much better - and you can follow along with the score !!

ALSO - this Rondo was composed by Chopin in 1828 - so it is indeed an "early" work.