Fall in Love with Music

An in-depth exploration of the 4th movement of Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 2. The members of the Amphion String Quartet join Maestro Maull for this opportunity to experience an entire movement of classical music. Each episode contains a complete performance of the movement prior to the detailed investigation.

Maestro George Marriner Maull applies concepts covered in previous episodes to Movement 4 of Beethoven’s String Quartet Opus 18, No. 3 in D Major. Following a complete performance of the movement, quartet members and Maull explore Beethoven’s use of the ternary and sonata forms. Maestro Maull demonstrates Beethoven’s sense of humor through syncopation and sudden direction.

Ruby My Dear by Thelonius Monk is played by the Dan Crisci Jazz Quartet. Robert Schumann's piano composition Wichtige Begebenheit from his Kinderszenen presents another opportunity to notice larger sections and introduces the concept of program music. Mozart's clever Variations on Ah! vous dirai-je Maman, K. 265/300e also for piano solo, reinforces the concept of open-minded listening.

Open-mindedness and flexible thinking as prerequisites are explored using visual puzzles and musical examples. Handel's fugue from his Concerto Grosso, Op.6, No. 7 reinforces flexible listening. Effective surprise in music is presented using Bela Bartok's For Children Vol. II, No. 12 for piano. The 3rd movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 is used to demonstrate tension and release.

Musical excerpts from Episode 3 receive encores to prod the viewer’s memory. References to the 1st movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 545; Bach's Little Prelude in D, BWV 936; Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2; Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4, "Italian" and Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples of the Moon, as well as a bit of humor, are used to refine the definitions of the basic ingredients of music .

Excerpts from the Gregorian Chant Victimae Paschali Laudes; the Medieval Song Quan vei la lauzeta mover; Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; Mozart's String Quartet, K. 387; Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2; Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and Desmond's Take Five, are used to encourage speculation about what can be considered to actually be music... or not.

This episode examines the factors that predispose people not to listen, but also offers an opportunity for some focused guided listening in the first movement of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 "Italian". Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 makes a humorous appearance, and a portion of the third movement of Bela Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is reprised.

Maestro Maull jumps right into creating an “aha” around listening versus hearing and the process of noticing detail in music using the third movement of Bela Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta as the vehicle.