Rondo

Description

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was an Austrian-born composer who studied with Haydn as a young man. He later moved to Paris, founded a music publishing house, and in 1807 set up a piano-making firm. Pleyel pianos are well known as the instruments Chopin favoured. As a composer, he enjoyed wide popularity in his lifetime for his symphonies and chamber music.

This is a rondo in C major and 3/4. In a rondo, the opening theme returns again and again with contrasting sections in between, a form the Classical era often used for light, lively movements. It lasts about a minute with 269 notes, a compact piece, and the range covers about three and a half octaves, from C2 to A5.

It is rated intermediate, at a little under five notes a second. In Classical music it matters to feel the phrases in units of two and four bars and to let their endings sound naturally. Each time the theme returns, check that it carries the same character by repeating it with A-B looping. Lowering the playback speed and checking the roles of the hands with the hand colours will speed up reading as well. A 61-key keyboard covers the whole range.

A broad collection of standalone piano pieces not belonging to any specific set, offering hundreds of varied character pieces to explore and compare.