Noam D. Elkies piano improvisations

מוזיקה משכיחה מגפה

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  1. 27 March 2020 à la Schumann/Chopin (D♭ major, 4:25)
  2. 28 March 2020 (Shabbat melody, 5:16)
  3. 29 March 2020 à la Renaissance brass (B♭ major, 4:56)
  4. 30 March 2020 à la Grieg/Tchaikovsky(?), and with an improved recording setup (D major, 6:38)
  5. 31 March 2020 à la Dvořák (D minor, 4:39)
  6. 1 April 2020 à la Shostakovich (B major, 2:24)
  7. 2 April 2020 à la Bach (D major, 4:55)
  8. 3 April 2020 variations on another Shabbat melody, sometimes called the “Bim Bam Song” (5:16 again, as it happens)
  9. 4 April 2020 à la Brahms (F major, 6:36)
  10. 5 April 2020 à la Chopin (B minor, 4:21)
  11. 6 April 2020 à la Mozart (G major, 6:06)
  12. 7 April 2020 Viennese waltz (C major, 4:01)
  13. 8 April 2020 Jazz (C major, 6:32)
  14. 9 April 2020 Seder medley (Dayenu variations, 6:00)
    & April 9 was the first day of Passover (First Seder was the evening of the 8th).
  15. 10 April 2020 Chorale prelude on themes from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (E major, 3:42)
    & April 10 was Good Friday.
  16. 11 April 2020 à la Mendelssohn(?) (A major, 6:37)
  17. 12 April 2020 Autumn Leaves, with a surprise guest (E minor, 10:45)
  18. 13 April 2020 à la Schütz(?) (A minor, 3:06)
  19. 14 April 2020 Minuet à la Schubert (C major, 5:05)
  20. 15 April 2020 à la early Fauré (D♭ major, 6:14)
  21. 16 April 2020 à la Vivaldi concerto (C minor, 3:35)
  22. 17 April 2020 slow movement of the concerto (E♭ major, 4:30)
  23. 18 April 2020 à la Bach (G♯ minor, 7:48)
  24. 19 April 2020 Surprise Variations (C major, 7:02)
  25. 20 April 2020 Passacaglia for left hand alone (D♭ / C♯, 9:17)
  26. 21 April 2020 Dona, Dona in honor of Yom Ha-Shoah (E♭ minor, 3:44)
  27. 22 April 2020 Polonaise (A major, 4:13)
  28. 23 April 2020 Sarabande for piano 2½ hands(?) (B♭ minor, 5:07)
  29. 24 April 2020 Perpetuum mobile (B♭ major, 2:27)
  30. 25 April 2020 à la Poulenc (A minor, 5:05)
  31. 26 April 2020 Chorale for piano 2½ hands(?) (A♭ major, 3:39)
  32. 28 April 2020 Variations and Fughettaboutit on La donna è mobile (B major, 13:20)
  33. 29 April 2020 Zoom reverie (E minor, 4:20)
  34. 30 April 2020 Take 5×5 mashup (E♭ minor, 5:02)
  35. 1 May 2020 Mozart travesty (E minor, 2:42)
  36. 2 May 2020 Canon (E minor, 2:15)
  37. 3 May 2020 Fantasy (C minor, 8:57)
  38. 4 May 2020 Scherzo à la Schubert (F♯ minor, 4:11)
  39. 5 May 2020 à la Debussy (C♯ minor, 5:58)
  40. 6 May 2020 CABBAGE/HEAD (A minor, 5:11)
  41. 7 May 2020 Song in B-Locrian (3:21)
  42. 8 May 2020 Ragtime (B minor, 2:39)
  43. 9 May 2020 EGGHEAD fugue (E minor, 3:40)
  44. 10 May 2020 Mother’s Day meditation (A♭ major, 3:42)
  45. 11 May 2020 à la Handel overture (E major, 3:35)
  46. 12 May 2020 Variations on Papageno’s song from The Magic Flute (G major, 10:44)
  47. 13 May 2020 Capriccio (A minor, 5:35)
  48. 14 May 2020 Improvisation on an 11-beat drone (F♯, 7:09)
  49. 15 May 2020 Bach travesty (G minor, 4:09)
  50. 16 May 2020 Chromatic fantasy (F minor, 8:53)
  51. 17 May 2020 à la Schubert impromptu (B major, 10:02)
  52. 18 May 2020 Renaissance dance in D (2:37)
  53. 19 May 2020 “Bim Bam Bom” (popular Israeli song, Taharlev-Vilensky 1970; here in D minor, 1:48)
  54. 20 May 2020 White-key presto (C major, 2:50)
  55. 21 May 2020 FABACEAE [beans] (A major, 2:04)
  56. 22 May 2020 Victim of Circumstance March (A minor, 2:37)
  57. 23 May 2020 Left-hand aria à la Chopin (F minor, 5:00)
  58. 24 May 2020 à la Bach cello prelude (F major, 5:57)
  59. 25 May 2020 Ha-’Ir Be-’Afor (The City in Gray, by Naomi Shemer 1966; here in D minor, 3:25)
  60. 26 May 2020 à la Chopin prelude (A minor, 1:16)
  61. 27 May 2020 Chopin travesty (F♯ minor, 1:46)
  62. 28 May 2020 Harvard Commencement medley (C major, 6:00)
  63. 29 May 2020 Mashup for Shavuot = Feast of the [Seven] Weeks (A minor/major, 1:43)
  64. 30 May 2020 Jazz ballad (C minor, 5:07)
  65. 31 May 2020 Classical minuet (G major, 4:51)
  66. 1 June 2020 LEVAS (C major, 4:32)
  67. 2 June 2020 after Chopin: Funeral March of a Revolution (B minor, 4:10)
  68. 3 June 2020 Chorale prelude on America the Beautiful (E minor, 2:56)
  69. 4 June 2020 Pentatonic folksong (E♭ minor, 3:56)
  70. 6 June 2020 La Folia (A♭ minor, 16:44)
  71. 7 June 2020 Song seeking words (D minor, 3:14)
  72. 8 June 2020 Lu Y’hi (May It Be, by Naomi Shemer 1973; here in C minor, 3:41)
  73. 9 June 2020 Ye olde descending tetrachord (B minor, 7:39)
  74. 10 June 2020 à la Bach violin presto (D minor, 3:22)
  75. 11 June 2020 Reverie (A major, 6:33)
  76. 12 June 2020 Psalm 133 mashup (Hiné Mah Tov / O combien, here in D minor / F major, 2:48)
  77. 13 June 2020 Part-song (D minor, 5:11)
  78. 14 June 2020 Happy Birthday à la Chopin (B♭ major, 1:45)
  79. 15 June 2020 Gavotte (A minor, 4:17)
  80. 16 June 2020 Chopin étude mashup (A♭ major, 3:08)
  81. 17 June 2020 Somber intermezzo (B♭ minor, 5:40)
  82. 18 June 2020 Capriccio (B minor, 4:38)
  83. 19 June 2020 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (G♭ major, 3:44)
    & On the occasion of Juneteenth
  84. 20 June 2020 Polonaise (G minor, 3:24)
  85. 21 June 2020 Canon (A minor, 1:56);
  86. 21 June 2020 bonus: Fantasy on Sumer Is Icumen In (F♯ major, 3:39)
  87. 22 June 2020 à la Brahms intermezzo (E major, 5:17)
  88. 23 June 2020 à la Beethoven sonata-allegro finale (C minor, 4:40)
  89. 24 June 2020 Andante à la Beethoven (A♭ major, 7:18)
  90. 25 June 2020 Adagio à la Bach (B♭ minor, 7:38)
  91. 26 June 2020 Too many variations on an original(?) theme (E major, 10:11)
  92. 28 June 2020 Nostalgia (G minor, 4:10)
  93. 29 June 2020 Renaissance motet (G minor, 4:03)
  94. 30 June 2020 Rainy day blues (F major, 3:55)
  95. 1 July 2020 Humoresque (F♯ major, 4:32)
  96. 2 July 2020 March (F minor, 4:00)
  97. 4 July 2020 7/4 mashup (E♭ major / A♭ major, 4:04)
  98. 5 July 2020 Londonderry Air à la Mendelssohn (F major, 2:47)
  99. 6 July 2020 4,000 Men of Harvard? (F minor, 3:20)
    & Harvard had just announced that at most 40% of undergraduates would be invited to campus for the Fall 2020(–2021) semester.
    & My first thought was a socially musically distant Fair Harvard, but that improvisation was too depressing.
  100. 7 July 2020 Old/New 100th (C major, 4:42)
  101. 8 July 2020 Shnei Shoshanim (“Two Roses”, by Mordechai Zeira to lyrics by Yaakov Orland; here in F minor, 5:01)
  102. 9 July 2020 Allegro agitato (C minor, 1:17)
  103. 10 July 2020 5:2 prelude (A major, 1:57)
  104. 11 July 2020 Andante from a Baroque trumpet concerto (D major, 4:54)
  105. 12 July 2020 Quasi celesta (D♭ major, 3:10)
  106. 13 July 2020 à la Bach organ prelude (B minor, 5:59)
  107. 14 July 2020 La Marseillaise, à la française (E major, 2:40)
  108. 16 July 2020 Blue Submarine (F♯ minor, 4:13)
  109. 17 July 2020 Es ist genug (C major, 2:24)
  110. 18 July 2020 Variations on Arbeau’s Pavane (E minor, 4:34)
  111. 19 July 2020 Horn duet (E♭ major, 4:42)
  112. 20 July 2020 Goodinerie? (B♭ major, 1:27)
  113. 21 July 2020 Sarabande à la Bach (D minor, 5:53)
  114. 22 July 2020 Phrygian motet (E-Phrygian, 5:28)
  115. 23 July 2020 Hexatonic meditation (E♭ major, 3:33)
  116. 24 July 2020 Siciliana à la Bach (G minor, 4:56)
  117. 25 July 2020 March à la Schubert (A major, 4:55)
  118. 26 July 2020 à la Brahms intermezzo (E minor, 4:52)
  119. 27 July 2020 à la Britten? (D major, 3:13)
  120. 28 July 2020 Kinneret (a.k.a. Sham Harei Golan, N. Shemer’s popular setting (c.1963) of Rachel’s 1927 poem; here in C minor, 4:00).
  121. 29 July 2020 Menuet à la Haydn string quartet (C major, 4:19)
  122. 30 July 2020 Lamentation à la Rachmaninoff (F minor, 6:12)
  123. 31 July 2020 Andante à la Bach’s Italian Concerto (E minor, 5:20)
  124. 2 August 2020 Toccata à la Scarlatti (F major, 1:59)
  125. 3 August 2020 53 beat intermezzo à la Brahms (E♭ major, 3:02)
  126. 4 August 2020 Berceuse on an E7 chord (5:22) [the E7 root system has size 126]
  127. 5 August 2020 Dance à la Dvořák (G minor, 3:13)
  128. 6 August 2020 Adagio à la Beethoven, with semihemidemisemiquavers (A♭ major, 7:52)
  129. 7 August 2020 Ye olde descending chromatic tetrachord (C♯ minor, 8:17)
  130. 8 August 2020 Andantino scherzando à la Beethoven × Schubert (A major, 4:53)
  131. 9 August 2020 Chorale à la Mendelssohn(?) (E♭ major, 4:09)
  132. 10 August 2020 Tango (A minor, 3:16)
  133. 11 August 2020 Andante for whistling and left hand à la Mozart (C major, 6:44)
  134. 12 August 2020 Trio sonata movement (F major, 6:13)
  135. 13 August 2020 Andante in 5 (A minor, 8:38)
  136. 14 August 2020 Glee over a found penny? (A major, 1:57)
  137. 15 August 2020 Shave and a hair cut — two part invention (C minor, 1:32)
    & I had just taken my first haircut since the beginning of the pandemic.
  138. 16 August 2020 Chorale à la Schumann(?) (D minor, 3:12)
  139. 17 August 2020 Meditation à la Messiaen (C major, 5:48)
  140. 18 August 2020 Scherzo à la Prokofiev (C major, 2:57)
  141. 19 August 2020 Sarabande à la Ravel (C♯ minor, 4:56)
  142. 20 August 2020 Eretz Yisrael Yafah (Beautiful Israel, by Yeshayahu “Shaike” Paikov to lyrics by Dudu Barak; here in F minor, 4:00)
  143. 21 August 2020 Jazz ballad (G minor, 3:16)
  144. 22 August 2020 D9 waltz (G major, 3:58; cf. #126 above)
  145. 23 August 2020 Étude (C major, 3:08)
  146. 24 August 2020 Scherzo (G major, 2:01)
  147. 25 August 2020 Moment musical à la Schubert (in phrases of 6 × 9/♪ because 2020−1966; A major, 5:15)
  148. 26 August 2020 Yesterday (yes, P. McCartney’s song — though here in F minor, 3:49)
  149. 27 August 2020 Scherzo (G minor, 5:07)
  150. 28 August 2020 Prelude (D major, 4:57)
  151. 29 August 2020 Prelude à la Chopin (C minor, 2:35)
  152. 30 August 2020 Bicinium (D minor/Dorian, 2:39)
  153. 31 August 2020 Ralph Vaughan Williams travesty: The Lydian Turtle-Dove (A-Lydian, 2:32)
  154. 1 September 2020 part-song (A minor, 2:47)
  155. 2 September 2020 Geshem, Geshem (rain song; here in E minor, 2:22)
  156. 3 September 2020 Baroque overture (A major, 9:39)
  157. 4 September 2020 Variations on M. Zeira’s tune for Lekhah Dodi (A♭ major, 4:32)
  158. 5 September 2020 Vried Mzart Mnuet (G major, 6:01)
  159. 6 September 2020 Rondo (C major, 5:36)
  160. 7 September 2020 7/4 Dances (A major, 3:01)
  161. 8 September 2020 Weltschmerz (E minor, 4:24)
  162. 9 September 2020 Carmen travesty (A minor, 2:59)
  163. 10 September 2020 Nocturne à la Chopin (C minor, 11:08)
  164. 11 September 2020 à la Barber, in memoriam 11.ix.2001 (E♭-Phrygian, 5:17)
  165. 12 September 2020 Adagio aria (E major, 5:36)
  166. 13 September 2020 Addams Family variations and family feugue (B♭ major, 5:25)
  167. 14 September 2020 Scherzo à la Beethoven (C major, 3:14)
  168. 15 September 2020 Song without words (A♭ major, 4:04)
  169. 16 September 2020 à la Chopin (A minor, 3:37)
  170. 17 September 2020 Ba-Shanah Ha-Ba’a (Next Year, by Nurit Hirsh to lyrics by Ehud Manor; here in E minor, 1:52)
  171. 18 September 2020 Shanah Tovah (children’s song by Nahum Nardi to lyrics by Levin Kipnis; here in F♯ major, 0:57)
    & September 18-19 was the first day of the Jewish year 5781.
  172. 19 September 2020 Aria in memoriam RBG (G minor, 5:00)
    & RBG is the descending G-minor triad heard at the start of most phrases [R=Re]; likewise the recurring “recitative” spells out R[e] U[t] T[i] H(=B) B A etc., with I = 1 = C and N = short M(i).
  173. 20 September 2020 Whistle while you play (à la Mozart; in A major, 4:04)
  174. 21 September 2020 Whistle while you play II (à la French(?) Baroque; in E minor, 1:47)
  175. 22 September 2020 Vivaldi travesty (for the first day of Fall; in F minor, 2:24)
  176. 23 September 2020 Shnem Asar Yerachim (Twelve Months), a popular children’s song by N. Shemer (c.1959; here in A major, 1:37)
  177. 24 September 2020 Cortège (E♭ minor, 4:40)
  178. 25 September 2020 Rhapsody (G minor, 4:52)
  179. 26 September 2020 Ki Hinei Ka-Chomer (Yom Kippur piyyut; here in E minor, 4:06)
  180. 27 September 2020 Vidui (Yom Kippur confession); here in E major, 2:25)
  181. 29 September 2020 Intermezzo (A minor, 6:20)
  182. 30 September 2020 March (C major, 3:29)
  183. 1 October 2020 Chromatic prelude à la Bach (G minor, 4:52)
  184. 2 October 2020 Shlomit Bonah Sukkah (Shlomit Builds a Sukkah) by N. Shemer (1971; here in E minor, 2:35)
  185. 3 October 2020 Carmen travesty II (F major, 3:49)
  186. 4 October 2020 Variations on a theme of Pachelbel (D major, 7:43)
  187. 5 October 2020 Offenbach travesty (C minor, 1:45)
    & Offenbach died on this day 140 years ago.
  188. 6 October 2020 Verdi travesty (B minor, 2:40)
  189. 7 October 2020 Waltz (A minor, 3:06)
  190. 8 October 2020 Scherzo à la Mendelssohn (A minor, 3:41)
  191. 9 October 2020 Chorale à la Schubert (B♭ major, 6:47)
  192. 10 October 2020 Sisu v’Simchu b’Simchat Torah (Rejoice in Simchat Torah!, by Yeshayahu “Shaike” Paikov (1971) to lyrics drawn from the liturgy; here in D minor, 2:36)
  193. 11 October 2020 Prelude à la Debussy(?) based on the “I’m Coming Out” hook from the song by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers, recorded in 1980 by Diana_Ross; on the occasion of National Coming Out Day (F major, 2:43)
  194. 12 October 2020 Barcarola (E minor, 3:42)
  195. 13 October 2020 Prelude à la Bach (B♭ minor, 5:13)
  196. 14 October 2020 Anxiety (prelude à la Chopin; C♯ minor, 1:01)
  197. 15 October 2020 Anticipation (à la Schumann; D♭ major, 1:14)
  198. 16 October 2020 10/16 miniature (C major, 0:36)
  199. 17 October 2020 in memoriam Chopin (E♭ minor, 6:04)
    & Chopin died on this day in 1849.
  200. 19 October 2020 Scherzo à la Brahms (C minor, 4:37)
    & Starting “C C” because Roman numerals — this is #200 in the series.
  201. 20 October 2020 Romance (B♭ major, 6:00)
  202. 21 October 2020 Menuet à la Haydn/Mozart (C major, 3:59)
  203. 22 October 2020 Fantasy à la Chopin (C minor, 4:12)
  204. 23 October 2020 Reverie à la Schumann (C minor, 3:57)
  205. 24 October 2020 Chorale (A minor, 3:44)
  206. 25 October 2020 Tango Travesty (D minor, 2:20)
    & Johann Strauss Jr. was born on this day 195 years ago.
  207. 26 October 2020 Scarlatti Travesty (C minor, 2:54)
    & Domenico Scarlatti was born on this day 335 years ago.
  208. 27 October 2020 Paganini variations (A minor, 6:58)
    & Nicolò Paganini was born on this day in 1782.
  209. 28 October 2020 Trio sonata movement (C minor, 2:56)
  210. 29 October 2020 Folksong (G minor, 3:28)
  211. 30 October 2020 Let it snow — somewhere else! (D minor, 1:48)
    & On the occasion of the season’s first snow, which dumped about 3½ inches on the Boston area, shattering the record for October snowfall.
  212. 31 October 2020 Halloween travesty/mashup (D major, 3:24)
  213. 1 November 2020 Mashup for All Saints’ Day (C major, 2:59)
  214. 2 November 2020 Election-eve vigil à la Bach (C major, 6:00)
  215. 3 November 2020 Election-day passacaglia (C major, 4:00)
  216. 4 November 2020 Melancholy Mendelssohn masquerate (F♯ minor, 4:00)
    & Felix Mendelssohn died on this day in 1847. [Ah well, no 63 beat improv for #216; for the famous Bach Chorale #216 Es ist genug, see #109 from 17 July]
  217. 5 November 2020 Stretching exercise (D major, 3:52)
    & No elbow notes this time (which would have made this much easier). I cannot play a 12th with either hand, but can barely hold one with my left.
  218. 6 November 2020 “The Stars and Stripes Forever” à la Variation 2 from Brahms Op.24 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel)
    & John Philip Sousa was born on this day in 1854.
  219. 7 November 2020 Firewater music: Rondeau (D major, 3:04)
  220. 8 November 2020 Fuga super Ave, Princeps (B♭ major, 3:05)
  221. 9 November 2020 Lied à la Schubert (A minor, 3:40)
  222. 10 November 2020 Daydream (E major, 6:01)
  223. 13 November 2020 Rossini travesty (E minor, 2:24)
    & Gioachino Rossini died on this day in 1868.
  224. 14 November 2020 Simple Gifts / Copland tribute (C major, 2:53)
    & Aaron Copland was born on this day in 1900.
  225. 15 November 2020 Pastorale (G major, 6:26)
  226. 16 November 2020 Pastorale à la Hndemith (B♭, 2:56)
    & Paul Hindemith was born on this day in 1895.
  227. 17 November 2020 Prelude à la Chopin (C major, 2:58)
  228. 18 November 2020 Andante à la Mozart (G minor, 6:56)
  229. 19 November 2020 Prelude à la Rachmaninoff (F♯ major, 6:36)
  230. 20 November 2020 Abraham Binder’s familiar tune for the blessing for lighting Shabbat candles (A minor, 1:28)
    & A few years ago I figured that the composer may have chosen to repeat the words L’hadlik ner (to light a candle) — even though one normally must not repeat words in a prescribed blessing — because traditionally two candles are lit.
  231. 21 November 2020 Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of our Hearts in memoriam Henry Purcell (3:50)
    & Purcell died on this day 325 years ago. His setting of Thou Knowest, Lord, …, and thus my tribute, is not really in any one key: Purcell’s score is notated in two flats, and ends in G minor (with a Picardy third), but starts in E♭ major and wends its way through various nearby keys (none of which is G) before the final cadence.
  232. 22 November 2020 C-Major General’s Song (C major, 6:18)
    & Composer Arthur Sullivan died on this day 120 years ago.
  233. 23 November 2020 Hommage à Tallis (A major, 3:30)
    & Thomas Tallis died on this day 435 years ago.
  234. 24 November 2020 Pachelbel Rag (D major, 3:42)
    & Scott Joplin was born this day in 1868. Today is also the 330th anniversary of the birth of Charles Theodore Pachelbel, son of Johann Pachelbel of Canon in D fame/infamy, and during 1737–1750 “the most famous musical figure in early Charleston, South Carolina”(!).
  235. 25 November 2020 Holiday mashup (D major, 1:02)
    & Today is both Thanksgiving Eve and the birthday of Franz X. Gruber (1787–1863) of Silent Night fame.
  236. 26 November 2020 Chorale prelude on “We Gather Together” (B♭ major, 5:00)
  237. 27 November 2020 Romance (G♭ major, 6:26)
  238. 1 December 2020 Cello* aria (E major, 6:20)
    & *Seems the “cello” has an extra low string or two.
  239. 3 December 2020 Dreamscales (F minor, 5:41)
    & The first phrase or two are all I could remember (well enough to reproduce) this morning from an actual dream.
  240. 4 December 2020 Siciliana à la Française (E♭ minor, 3:16)
  241. 5 December 2020 Lydian musette (F-Lydian, 2:54)
  242. 6 December 2020 Rondo à la Brubeck (E♭ major, 4:09)
    & David Brubeck was born on this day 100 years ago.
  243. 7 December 2020 Eleven-beat dance (G minor, 3:48)
  244. 8 December 2020 Infatuation (A♭ major, 2:00)
  245. 9 December 2020 Disenchantment (F minor, 3:45)
    & These are not autobiographical: like the pair of 14-15 October, today’s and yesterday’s improvisations were named after the fact.
  246. 10 December 2020 Ma’oz Tzur Medley (D major, 3:15)
  247. 11 December 2020 Banu Choshech Legaresh (“We come to chase out the darkness”, 1960 tune by Emanuel-Amiran-Pougatchov (1909–1993) for a popular children’s song for Hanukkah with lyrics by Sarah Levi-Tannai (1910–2005); D minor, 1:37)
  248. 12 December 2020 Lichvod Ha-Chanukkah (“In Honor of Hanukkah”), sung to lyrics based on a 1916 poem by the great Hebrew-language poet Bialik (D minor, 1:25)
    & According to the song’s entries in Hebrew and French Wikipedia, the melody is a folk Hassidic tune applied to the poem by composer Yitzhak Edel (1896–1973).
  249. 13 December 2020 Mi Ze Hidlik? (“Who Lit Candles?”), lyrics c.1923 by Levin Kipnis to a Yiddish folk tune (E♭ minor, 2:59)
  250. 14 December 2020 Sevivon Sov Sov Sov (“Spin, Dreidel!”), tune by Avraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882–1938, “considered to be the author of the lyrics of the famous Jewish folk song ‘Hava Nagila’ ”) to lyrics by Levin Kipnis; first published in 1923. (E minor, 1:05)
  251. 15 December 2020 Rondo: See, the Conqu’ring Hero Comes! (adapted from Handel’s oratorio Joshua (1747) to his 1746 oratorio Judas Maccabaeus, and sometimes sung as a Hanukkah song), interspersed with Oseh Ani Hanukkiah (“I’m Making a Hanukkiah”), finger-counting verses from a 1920 children’s song by Levin Kipnis to a folk tune partly attributed to Abraham Goldfaden (1840–1908). (C major, 2:56)
  252. 16 December 2020 Chanukkah Sonatensatz à la Beethoven (C minor, 9:06)
    & Today is celebrated as Beethoven’s 250th birthday. The main tune is Oh/Oy Chanukah, a Jewish folk tune from Eastern Europe which I know as Yemei Ha-Chanukkah (1918 lyrics by Avraham Avrunin (1869–1957)); the B-theme is Ner Li (I Have a Candle), tune by Daniel Sambursky (1909–1977) to lyrics by Levin Kipnis published in 1935. The familiar tune for Ma’oz Tzur introduces the coda.
  253. 17 December 2020 Mi Yemalel (often translated as “Who can retell?”), Hanukkah lyrics by Menashe Rabina/Rabinovich (1899–1968) to a folk tune often sung in canon (C major, 2:28)
  254. 18 December 2020 Farewell to Hanukkah Medley (C minor to B♭ major, 3:43)
    & Kad Katan (“a little [oil]jar”, tune by Yoel Valbe (1898–1982) to lyrics by Aharon Ashman (1896–1981), published 1948) via Beethoven VII:3 to Hanukkiah Li Yesh (“I have a Hanukkiyah”, tune by Nisan Cohen-Melamed (1906–1983) to lyrics by Sarah Glozman (1915–?), before 1955).
  255. 21 December 2020 Bleak Midwinter on the occasion of the winter solstice (E minor, 3:06)
  256. 22 December 2020 Venite, fedeli à la Puccini (C major, 3:48)
    & Giacomo Puccini was born on this day in 1858.
  257. 23 December 2020 Carol of the Bells (Leontovych 1914 / Pierpont 1857; F♯ minor, 2:20)
  258. 24 December 2020 Twelve Parodies of Christmas (F major, 9:48)
    & Chant/parallel organum; Josquin; Bach; Mozart; Beethoven; Schubert; Chopin; Brahms; Debussy; Jazz/Joplin; Shostakovich; Reich/*/finale
    & * with a cameo from Berg’s Violin Concerto on the occasion of the composer’s death 85 years ago today.
  259. 25 December 2020 O Lindenbaum! (E major, 2:31)
    & The famous fifth song “Der Lindenbaum” from Schubert’s Winterreise cycle fits both with the similarly-titled O Tannenbaum and with Silent Night / Stille Nacht which ends with a nearly identical musical phrase.
  260. 26 December 2020 BABBAGE (G major, 4:19)
    & Charles Babbage was born on this day in 1791.
  261. 27 December 2020 Chorale en rondeau (B minor, 3:38)
  262. 28 December 2020 Passacaille sur le nom MAURICE RAVEL (A minor, 6:46)
    & See the Sep.19 entry for the encoding (adding V = 5 = G and L = La = A). Maurice Ravel died on this day in 1837.
  263. 29 December 2020 Whiskey after Rice (G major, 2:19)
    & à la “Whiskey before breakfast”, requested by Jeremy Teitelbaum in memory of Tony Rice who died a few days ago.
  264. 30 December 2020 Sfirat Mlai (“Inventory”, 1974 tune by N. Shemer to lyrics by Yossi Banai (1932–2006); here in D minor, 1:38)
    & The song is a parody of the Passover Seder song Echad Mi Yodea? (“Who Knows One?”), replacing all but the refrain “One is our God…” with contemporary Israeli references. At the end of December it also suggests an end-of-year account or summation.
  265. 31 December 2020 Auld Lang Syne (C major, 3:31)
  266. 1 January 2021 Let 2020 be forgot (F minor, 1:27) [based on an idea by Michael S. Cuthbert]
  267. 2 January 2021 Gavotte (D minor, 3:12)
  268. 5 January 2021 Andante à la Mendelssohn (A minor, 8:27)
  269. 6 January 2021 Georgia on My Mind (1930, Hoagy Carmichael’s tune to lyrics by Stuart Gorrell, often associated with Ray Charles; here in B♭ and G major, 2:49)
  270. 8 January 2021 Andante à la Mozart (G minor, 7:13)
  271. 9 January 2021 Nocturne à la Chopin (C♯ minor, 8:27)
  272. 13 January 2021 Stephen Foster mashup (E major, 2:27)
    & Gentle Annie (1856) and Old Folks at Home (1851, a.k.a. “Swanee River”). Stephen Foster died on this day in 1864, aged 37.
  273. 16 January 2021 Étude à la Liszt (A minor, 3:16)
  274. 18 January 2021 We Shall Overcome (F major, 4:34)
    & On the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The introduction (also briefly recalled towards the end) is the second half of a hymn O sanctissima whose first half is thought to be the source for the first half of We Shall Overcome.
  275. 19 January 2021 Harp tune (G-Dorian, 5:12)
  276. 20 January 2021 Anthem of thanksgiving, in the Lydian mode (F-Lydian, 5:50)
    & TSSB may be as close as any national anthem comes to being in Lydian.
  277. 21 January 2021 Andante à la Beethoven (A minor, 8:51)
  278. 22 January 2021 Rondo Buffo (A♭ major, 4:26)
  279. 23 January 2021 Tempo di Siciliana (G minor, 8:49)
  280. 24 January 2021 Wellerman (E minor, 3:58)
  281. 25 January 2021 Allegro giocoso à la Mendelssohn (A major, 3:13)
  282. 26 January 2021 Matilda mash-up (E♭ major, 5:46)
    & On the occasion of Australia Day. Yes, the “waltzing” of the title is not a Viennese waltz, but “Austria” is sort of close to “Australia” :-)
    Happily another “Matilda” is also close enough to join in the fun.
  283. 27 January 2021 Variations à la Mozart on a Tu B’Shvat song (C major, 3:19)
    & On the occasion of Mozart’s 265th birthday (happily Mozart’s famous variations on another children’s song are K.265!). The theme is adapted from the tune by Menashe Rabina/Rabinovich (1899–1968) for the children’s song Ha-Shkeidiah Porachat (“The almond tree is blooming”, lyrics by Israel Dushman (1884–1947)).
  284. 28 January 2021 Song without words (D♭ major, 5:09)
  285. 29 January 2021 Capriccio (D minor, 4:48)
  286. 30 January 2021 In memoriam Francis Poulenc 7.i.1899–30.i.1963 (D minor, 5:31)
  287. 30 January 2021 bonus: Prelude à la Bach (A minor, 3:41)
  288. 31 January 2021 Hommage à Franz Schubert 31.i.1797–19.xi.1828 (A major, 6:25)
  289. 1 February 2021 Snow prelude (B minor, 7:17)
  290. 2 February 2021 Omaggio a Palestrina c.1525–2.ii.1594 (F major, 4:10)
  291. 3 February 2021 Birthday scherzo for Mendelssohn 3.ii.1809–4.xi.1847 (D major, 2:24)
  292. 4 February 2021 Oyfn Pripetchik (a.k.a. Der Alef-Beis, Yiddish song published in 1900 by Mark Warshawsky (1848–1907); here in F minor, 2:37, with a Mahler cameo)
  293. 9 February 2021 Canzona (E minor, 7:08)
  294. 10 February 2021 Lullaby (E major, 4:46)
  295. 13 February 2021 Klezmer (C minor, 5:40)
  296. 13 February 2021 bonus: Chopin travesty (Étude #14 à la #26; F major, 4:20)
    & On the occasion of the birthday of Leopold Godowski (13.ii.1870–21.xi.1938)
  297. 14 February 2021 Romance for Valentine’s Day (D major, 4:43)
  298. 15 February 2021 Es war ein Ros … (A♭ major, 2:03)
    & On the 400th anniversary of the death of Michael Praetorius, best known for the familiar arrangement of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (“Lo, how a rose e’er blooming”).
  299. 17 February 2021: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (E minor, 2:18)
    & I gather that the hymn (though not in this harmony!), originally written by Martin Luther in German and based on Psalm 130, is sometimes sung on Ash Wednesday. The tune was used by J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, and others; the melody is attributed to Luther himself, possibly assisted by his collaborator, composer Johann Walter (1496–1570).
  300. 19 February 2021: “Proverbio”: recollection of the one piece I know by Orazio Vecchi, who died this day in 1605, and probably never heard The Sailor’s Hornpipe. (G major, 1:08)
  301. 20 February 2021: In memoriam John Dowland 1563–20.ii.1626 (G minor, 4:37)
  302. 21 February 2021: Shoshanat Ya’akov (Purim song, tune by Yedidiah Admon (1894–1982) to an ancient text; here in D major → E minor, 3:18)
  303. 22 February 2021: Shir Ha-Masechot (Song of the [Purim] Masks (1932), tune by Nahum Nardi (15.ii.1901–13.ix.1977) to a children’s song by Levin Kipnis; here in F major, 1:49)
  304. 23 February 2021: Ani Purim (I am Purim), another of the 1932 collection of Kipnis-Nardi children’s songs for Purim — this one à la Handel in honor of his 336th birthday. (F major, 2:52)
  305. 24 February 2021: Leitzan Katan Nechmad (Nice Little Clown), children’s song written (both tune and text) in 1959 by Sarah Levi-Tannai (c.1910–3.x.2005) and often sung at Purim (D♭ major, 1:35)
    & The song has long been associated with the holiday, though its text is not specifically Purimic: “Nice little clown, dancing with everyone. My little clown, maybe you’ll dance with me? Maybe, maybe, maybe you’ll dance with me?”
  306. 25 February 2021: Hag Purim (Levin Kipnis’s adaptation of a traditional Simchat Torah tune as a children’s Purim song complete with gragger sound effects; here in E minor, 1:29)
  307. 1 March 2021: Nocturne à la Chopin (A major, 8:27)
    & I see that this is the third “Nocturne à la Chopin” here — and the second one happened to also clock in at 8:27 — but today I have the occasion (if occasion is needed) of Chopin’s birthday.
  308. 2 March 2021: Mack the Moldau? (Weill/Smetana mash-up; A minor, 3:26)
    & Bedřich Smetana and Kurt Weill were born on this day in 1824 and 1900 respectively.
  309. 3 March 2021: Gee, more Pachelbel (G major, 8:31)
    & Today might be the 315th anniversary of the death of Johann Pachelbel.
  310. 4 March 2021: à la Vivaldi bassoon concerto (G minor, 3:17)
    & Antonio Vivaldi was born on this day in 1678.
  311. 5 March 2021: Memorial medley (D minor, 1:29)
    & Today is the anniversary of the deaths of both Sergei Prokofiev (in 1953) and Thomas Arne (in 1778).
  312. 6 March 2021: Stars and Stripes Forever travesty (E minor / A minor, 5:44)
    & John Philip Sousa died on this day in 1932.
  313. 14 March 2021: Pi Day Waltz (C major, 4:50 [just a bit over 3π/2 minutes])
    & The two main tunes are taken from 3.14159265358979…, the beginning of the decimal expansion of π. March 14 happens to also be the birthday of Johann Strauss I, who wrote many waltzes though he is not as famous a waltz composer as his son.
  314. 17 March 2021: My Lagan Love, for St. Patrick’s Day (B♭ major, 2:59)
  315. 21 March 2021: Trio-sonata movement on B A C H, on the occasion of Bach’s birthday.
  316. 24 March 2021: Brandenburg cadenza, on the 300th anniversary of the dedication of the Brandenburg Concertos (E minor, 0:48)
  317. 27 March 2021: Bartókkosmos (from the Indoors Suite? :-)   E-Lydian, 4:21)
    & In belated recognition of the 140th birthday of Béla Bartók (25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945)
  318. 30 March 2021: Prelude à la Chopin (A minor, 2:59)
  319. 31 March 2021: Capriccio (A major, 3:33)
  320. 3 April 2021: Ballade (E minor, 11:40)
  321. 3 April 2021 bonus: in memoriam Johannes Brahms (F major, 6:10)
    & Johannes Brahms died on this day in 1897.
  322. 4 April 2021: Adir Hu Bi-Mlu Chad Gadya (Seder mash-up; F major, 1:23)
  323. 4 April 2021 bonus: Noël Nouvelet / Now the Green Blade Riseth (E minor, 2:44)
    & The traditional French Christmas carol is often sung at Easter to this text by John Macleod Campbell Crum (1872–1958).
  324. 7 April 2021 Estradniy Artist (Rachmaninoff ragtime; C♯ minor, 2:43)
  325. 8 April 2021 Zog nit keyn mol (a.k.a. Al-Na Tomar, Holocaust resistance anthem [lyrics by Hirsh Glick (1922–1944(?)), tune by Dmitri and Daniil Pokrass], in honor of Yom Ha-Shoah; here in A minor, 2:10)
  326. 12 April 2021 à la Bach overture for solo violin (G major, 3:12)
  327. 13 April 2021 à la Beethoven scherzo (B♭ minor, 3:58)
  328. 14 April 2021 Ha-Tikvah / Yerushalayim Shel Zahav [N. Shemer 1967], funeral march for Yom Ha-Zikaron = Memorial Day (D minor, 4:26)
  329. 17 April 2021 Passamezzi (variations in F minor, 8:55)
  330. 19 April 2021 Mazurka for Mazur (D minor, 3:37)
    & MAZUR spells out the tune M[i] A Z U[t] R[e], i.e. E A rest C# D. Today Mazur is 83⅓ = 10³/12 years old.
  331. 21 April 2021 Randall Thompson travesty (D minor, 3:10)
    & Thomspon was born on this day in 1899.
  332. 25 April 2021 Harvard Hymn travesties (C minor → major, 2:23)
    & John Knowles Paine, composer of the tune for Deus Omnium Creator and the USA’s first music professor, died on this day in 1906.
  333. 25 April 2021 bonus: Vaccination march (B♭ major, 2:01)
    & in anticipation of getting my first dose the next day
  334. 26 April 2021 Rondo à la Mozart piano concerto (E major, 7:05)
  335. 27 April 2021 Birthday lullaby for Prokofiev (F major, 3:27)
    & Sergei Prokofiev was born on this day 120 years ago.
  336. 1 May 2021 May Day travesty à la Dvořák Slavonic dance (C minor, 5:00)
    & Antonín Dvořák died on this day in 1904.
  337. 4 May 2021 May the Fourth be with your two-part invention (C minor, 3:15)
  338. 7 May 2021 Nutcracker travesty à la Brahms (E minor, 4:23)
    & Tchaikovsky and Brahms were both born on this day, in 1840 and 1833 respectively.
  339. 9 May 2021 Mode-switching Mozart for Mother’s Day (E major, 5:38)
    & A remarkably small fraction of Mozart’s music is in minor keys; the unusually somber mood of his violin sonata in E minor is often attributed to the recent death of his mother.
  340. 10 May 2021 Mode-switched Yerushalayim Shel Zahav [N. Shemer 1967], for Yom Yerushalayim = Jerusalem Day (D♭ major, 2:10)
  341. 11 May 2021 Lament (G minor, 7:44)
  342. 12 May 2021 Rondo for National Limerick Day (G major, 2:52)
  343. 13 May 2021 Oseh Shalom Bi-Mromav (Nurit Hirsh’s 1969 tune to the peace prayer from the Kaddish; here in G minor, 3:54)
  344. 17 May 2021 Andante à la Mozart horn concerto, on the 100th birthday of Dennis Brain (E♭ major, 9:39)
  345. 17 May 2021 bonus: Satie, XV½ on (only 0:48, because thankfully I stopped well short of 840 repetitions)
    & Erik Satie was born this day 155 years [= XV½ decades] ago.
  346. 18 May 2021 Memorial Mahler mashup (F minor, 5:26)
    & Today is the 110th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s death.
  347. 19 May 2021 Funeral march for Charles Ives, who died on this day in 1954 (B♭ and C minor, 1:37)
  348. 20 May 2021 Variations on a theme by Clara Wieck[-Schumann], who died on this day 125 years ago (C major, 7:31; with a cameo from R. Schumann)
    & The theme is from Clara Wieck’s Romance variée Op. 3; I used the theme as presented by Robert Schumann in his Impromptus Op. 5 (which are a set of variations on the same theme), but without the Eroica-style device of starting with just the bass line.
  349. 22 May 2021 Romance (G major, 5:20)
  350. 22 May 2021 bonus: Wagner travesties (2:56)
    & Richard Wagner was born on this day in 1813, and one imagines that he would not be amused by this medley of mash-ups of familiar Jewish tunes and Wagner excerpts: the Shabbat melody Shalom Aleichem with the Tristan prelude; Hava Nagila with the “Ride of the Valkyries”; and Ha-Tikvah with the Pilgrims’ Chorus from Tannhäuser.
  351. 24 May 2021 Take the A-Minor Train (A minor, 3:39)
    & Edward Kennedy ”Duke” Ellington died on this day in 1974. [FWIW his collaborator Billy (William Thomas) Strayhorn died 7 years less 7 days earlier.]
  352. 25 May 2021 Cello mélodie (G minor, 4:38)
  353. 26 May 2021 Tempo di Onegin (C major, 3:56)
    & Pushkin was born 222 years ago today, sort of. This improvisation incorporates a few motifs from Tchaikovsky’s opera, which if memory serves does not retain any of Pushkin’s stanzas in its libretto.
  354. 31 May 2021 Relief (E major, 4:16)
    & Today is the 14th day after my second Covid shot.
  355. 3 June 2021 Flower Waltz (D♭ major, 2:16)
    & Georges Bizet and Johann Strauss II both died on this day (in 1875 and 1899 respectively).
  356. 5 June 2021 Excitement (D♭ major, 1:30)