instrumental – Page 2

Ludwig van Beethoven | Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

“Ideas for the Violin Concerto (1806) can be found in the same notebook that Ludwig van Beethoven was using for the Fifth Symphony,” (Nashville Symphony). “While the latter required several years to be hammered into being, he produced the concerto in a matter of months, in 1806. But Beethoven did keep his soloist, a friend named Franz Joseph Clement who had been a former prodigy, waiting until the very last minute; he completed the score barely in time for the premiere two days before Christmas.

Beethoven had written his piano concertos up to this time for himself as soloist, but here he tailored this piece to the musical personality of Clement, who was acclaimed for the delicacy and tender refinement of his style—aspects that Beethoven highlights throughout the piece. But for all the celebrity of the soloist, the work did not catch on right away. While not as outwardly radical as the Eroica, the Violin Concerto was path-breaking in its own way and may have disappointed concertgoers expecting a mere display piece. There are few documented performances over the next three decades or so, and the Violin Concerto had to wait for such advocates as Joseph Joachim.”

After beginning in D major, the orchestra shifts with a sudden burst of increased volume (1:02) to D minor. Many more shifts occur throughout, but this one takes place before the violin soloist’s part even begins. This frequently-programmed piece is quickly recognizable — even from this introductory section alone.

Stan Getz | Crazy Chords

“Saxophonist Stan Getz came up at the very end of the swing era, a star soloist with Woody Herman’s orchestra in the late 1940s,” (NPR). “From the start, Getz was known for his rapturously beautiful ballad playing, much admired by peers like John Coltrane … It’s hard to overstate what a terrific tenor saxophonist Stan Getz was because there’s nothing dated about his style. He had a light, gorgeous tone that might convey great tenderness. He made swinging sound utterly natural and necessary. And he had an enviable melodic imagination as an improviser. His inspiration Lester Young famously said a good solo tells a story. And Getz could spin a tale.

Stan Getz fell into a lucrative career as the American standard bearer for a new musical fad, Brazil’s bossa nova, even before he scored big with “Girl From Ipanema.” Suddenly, Steaming Stanley really was out of step, replaced by his own more laidback self. He still improvised solos like a poet. But with so many tenors and others jumping on the bossa nova wagon, now everyone was copying him. So much for being old-fashioned.”

Well before Getz’s fame as an interpreter of bossa nova, his track “Crazy Chords” was released in 1951. After a short intro, the tune starts in earnest at 0:07. The 12-bar blues blazes by so fast that the second chorus hits at 0:17 — and the third at 0:28 and so on. Each chorus brings the tonality up by a half step, but Getz’s ideas (and those of his pianist, Al Haig) routinely bridge the borders between each chorus.

B+B Project | Cheremshyna

“B+B Project” is a Ukrainian ensemble named for its instrumentation (button accordion and bandura, an instrument which combines qualities of the zither and the lute). “The bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument … the B+B Project is bringing back the popularity of this fine instrument!” (EthnoCloud). “The group was created (in) 2015. They play a diverse repertoire: original songs, cover versions, rock, classical music, dubstep, Ukrainian music, and many others … The collective has toured extensively in Ukraine and around the world.” The B&B Project is now one of the most famous instrumental groups in Ukraine.

The group released “Cheremshyna” in 2022. After beginning in A minor, there’s a shift up a full step to B minor at 1:53. At 2:27, the tune returns to the original key.

Camille Saint-Saens | Africa (op. 89)

French composer “Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was left bereft at the death of his mother in December 1888, and the cold winter winds in Paris persuaded him that perhaps a warmer climate might better suit him,” (Interlude.hk). “Accordingly, he left Paris for Algiers where he stayed until May 1889 – walking, reading, listening, but not composing. Finally, in late 1889, he went first to Cadiz, Spain, and then to Las Palmas to take a winter holiday in the Canary Islands. There, he took a hotel room not in his well-known name but under the same of Charles Sannois, businessman, locked himself in his room, and started to work.

… The resulting work, Africa, Op. 89, was the result of the time he spent in Algeria and Egypt, and, at the final climax, uses the melody Salam al-Bey, then the Tunisian national anthem … In addition to this version for piano and orchestra, Saint-Saëns also created a solo piano version which is extremely difficult as both the originally challenging piano part and the orchestra parts are resolved in the solo pianist’s part.”

Sticking to the orchestral version: after beginning in G minor, the piece shifts to Eb major during an animated cadenza section in or around the 1:58 mark.

Levi Schechtmann | Asturias

“Levi Schechtmann, born in 1999, is a German pianist renowned for blending classical music with modern genres like hip-hop, creating a unique fusion that has captured a global audience,” (artist website). “He began piano lessons at age seven and has since developed a reputation as an innovative performer. Levi is active on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where he has gained nearly 600.000 followers in total, showcasing his reinterpretations of classical pieces by composers such as Bach, Liszt, and Chopin, but also his own arrangements and improvisations.

Schechtmann’s approach involves merging classical styles with elements of modern genres like hip-hop and house, a combination that has earned him numerous accolades. He has won awards at prestigious competitions, including the Steinway Competition and Hamburg Instrumental Competition, and has performed at renowned venues like Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and Flagey in Belgium. His popularity is driven by his ability to bridge musical genres, making classical music accessible and appealing to younger audiences through a modern, rhythm-heavy style.”

“Asturias,” released in August 2025, is built in E minor overall. At 2:05 (after a dreamy contrasting section unmarked by the unrelenting energy of the majority of the piece) there’s a shift to the relative G major just before the ending. Anyone who guesses that Schechtman might be a studio creation should also check the live version (posted below).

Many thanks to our contributor Mark B. for this distinctive submission to MotD — his third!

@levi.sct
Let’s see who can count the notes 😜 🎶Levi.Sct – Asturias 🎶 – #viral #piano #classical #asturias #yeah
♬ Originalton – Levi 🪐

Rob Harbron | Besinox

“Rob Harbron is a uniquely skilled player of the English concertina, described by The Guardian as a ‘concertina wizard’ and renowned for his highly individual and harmonic style of playing,” (artist website). “He is a member of Leveret (alongside Sam Sweeney and Andy Cutting), with whom he has toured extensively and released six landmark albums.

Known for his work with a wide range of artists including Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, Emily Portman, Emma Reid, and The Full English, he has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His debut solo album Meanders was released in 2019 and was followed by a tunebook of original compositions.”

“Besinox,” from As the Days Begin to Lengthen (2024), begins in Bb major. At 1:20, a less stable middle section is announced by a prominent F minor chord. 1:53 brings a resounding shift to G major, which then falls in and out of focus a few times via compelling but fleeting harmonic sidesteps. The tune ends on a D major chord, with the key of G major clearly in effect.

Clara Schumann | Piano Trio in G Minor, op. 17

“Thanks to her constant touring, which almost always included performances of her own music, Clara was probably a better-known composer than Robert when they married,” (LA Philharmonic). “The Four Polonaises of her Op. 1 (not her actual first compositions) had been published when she was 11 years old, to be followed by numerous other solo piano pieces and her Concerto.

After her marriage, Clara turned to larger forms, studying jointly with Robert through all of his enthusiasms. Their influences were mutual – composed in 1846, Clara’s Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17, was a direct influence on Robert’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 63, written the following year. (Robert’s own G-minor Piano Trio would be composed in 1851.) After Robert wrote his trios, Clara lost confidence in hers, but Brahms was one of many others who also played the work.”

While the Trio’s first movement, Allegro Moderato, begins in G minor, one of several harmonic shifts begins early (1:18) as a change in emphasis to the relative Bb major takes root.

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | Out on the Coast

“Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, from San Diego, is one of the most talented new bands on the West Coast. Mixing funk, soul, jazz, and Latin & African influences to create unique, exciting music… their ‘cinematic soul’ is like a cross between the music from Jim Jarmusch movies & Blacksploitation films of the 1970s,” (AllAboutJazz). “If you like Snarky Puppy, The Beastie Boys’ instrumentals, Quantic, The New Mastersounds, Karl Denson and Greyboy Allstars… then you’ll love Sure Fire Soul Ensemble.

The title track (of the band’s 2016 release), ‘Out on the Coast,’ is a cover version of a rare-groove classic by Larry Willis from 1973 — one of the very finest examples of electrifying jazz-funk from the ’70s. Sure Fire Soul Ensemble updates it to become a contemporary jazz funk jam you can’t resist. It’s a little meaner than the original—Peter “D” Williams attacks the drums & Tim Felten takes a brief, yet nasty organ solo on this one. The horn section plays the refrain spot-on and tremendous tone on the guitar all make this tune sound more modern and stimulating than the original.”

The track starts in C minor, but then the emphasis flips over to the parallel Eb major for the off-kilter chorus, first heard at 0:41-0:48. The contrast between the two sections is magnified further by a shift in groove from the verse’s gritty, syncopated funk to a sophisticated swing on the chorus.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Piano Quartet #2 in E-flat Major, K. 493: I. Allegro

In 1786, early in the era of the pianoforte, “Mozart wrote his two piano quartets for an ensemble essentially as new as the piano,” (Earsense.org). “But for a few random and now obscure composers before him, Mozart became the first to claim a genre that would captivate composers from Mendelssohn and Schumann onwards … Mozart’s “piano” quartets are considered the first in the genre not because they are historically the first, but because they are the historically the first great ones.

When he wrote them, Mozart was at the zenith of his fame as a performing concert pianist as well as a confirmed master of chamber music. The quartets are superbly balanced chamber works with all the craft and intimacy that implies, but they are also magnificent showcases for piano — in essence, chamber concertos, a kinship emphasized by their three-movement designs.”

The first movement’s opening section is in Eb major, but by 1:40 we’ve clearly shifted to Bb major after several hints and feints. The movement eventually concludes in its original key as well, but not before some more delightful harmonic meanderings!

Flim + the BBs | At the Hop

Even in the world of instrumental jazz fusion, which represented a tiny slice of recording sales even at its height, the trio known as Flim and the BBs enjoyed only a cult following as a band. Over the years, much of the information from the few short articles about the band has already been excerpted here on MotD. Some additional information about the trio’s musicians:

“Bassist Jimmy ‘Flim’ Johnson has played on countless standout sessions with everyone from Stan Getz to Ray Charles. Since 1991, he has recorded and toured regularly with James Taylor,” (VinylDiscovery). “Drummer Bill Berg, who was never credited for his work on Blood On The Tracks, is a native of Hibbing, Minnesota, birthplace of Bob Dylan. He now lives in western North Carolina where he plays gigs from time to time. Pianist, composer, filmmaker, screenwriter (etc.) Billy Barber wrote the theme song for the long-running ABC soap opera All My Children, along with a whole bunch of other stuff you’ve probably heard of.”

Keeping a focus on a light-hearted yet strongly syncopated melody and plenty of dynamic range, “At the Hop” (1985) starts with an emphasis on Bb major. There’s a shift to Gb major at 3:13, another to Ab major at 3:39, and then a return to the original key drops at 4:05. After a (mostly!) very soft-spoken percussion break, the full band returns to end the track.