To the best of my knowledge, this hasn't been done here before. The thing is, we often critique each other's music, but why don't we analyze works that have been written by the great composers? We can discuss what we like or don't like about certain famous pieces, which in turn can aid us in our own creative efforts.

We're going to start with Beethoven's Für Elise.

1) What are your thoughts on the main theme? We hear it all the time, and even most people who don't listen to Classical music are familiar with it. So we could say that the melody has withstood the test, but personally I'm getting tired of listening to it because I know that Beethoven has written many better works than this. Otherwise, I appreciate the theme's simplicity and mood.

2) The piece is in a rondo format, A - B - A - C - A. Now maybe it's just me, but I hate the B section (which starts in F major then modulates to C major). Sure, it's meant to contrast the other sections, however, I find that the contrast is way too drastic (and happy) and doesn't belong in the overall structure of the piece.

VERY interesting idea. I like it, especially considering that I do this as a hobby whenever I can. :)

I think, personally - just coming from me, a Theory major, that the main interesting points from the main theme include:

1) The chromaticism (especially that D# that is switched to D natural afterward in the theme);
2) The use of (elongated) stepwise motion - based off of what little I know about Schenkerian Analysis, I bet that if you did such an analysis, you would get what I mean, especially the use of the 7th leaps in the second half of the theme (for some reasons, 7ths always sound great to my ear - you could just look at these 7ths, though, as octave displacements) - this is a trick that I use in a lot of my compositions, to be honest: using "elongated" stepwise motion to create interest;
3) The fact that, although this is in 3/8, you could honestly see that the melody has somewhat of a 6/16 (i.e. with two beats) pulse - with how the arpeggios are divided in the main theme.

... and yes, I've always thought that the B theme does NOT work with this piece. It's bugged me for a while, haha.

I like this idea! :) K, so even though I'm not a piano expert, here goes:

1) Yes... yes yes yesssss.... I played this piece for a recital a little while back and I noticed during the A part, many people were humming/singing along with my playing... then, when I got to the B and C parts, it was silent. I feel people who don't play piano/haven't learned the song/hear the whole song a lot feel that A part is farrrrrr too redundant :bleh:. I remember while practicing for the recital that as I practiced more and more and got closer to the recital date, I dreaded practicing the A part... It got really frustrating and it irritated me a little bit, and now when I hear the song, it still feels too too too overplayed and I don't enjoy it as much... I'm thinking though, that after years and years it'll become beautiful to my ears again :)

2) yeah, B part is very contrasting... Like, it's a nice little spin off of the dark sounding A and C parts, but it's kind of hard to play it happily when the tone of the song isn't very happy. Like, you start, play throughout, and end with a dark tone and adding this very little happy lively part is a little odd. Personally it was hard to play it nicely without making it sound like, too energetic/tiredly exciting and all. x_x

Figured I'd jump in on this one, Al. :)

1) It is difficult to give a fair-minded opinion about this piece. It is one of those few classical melodies that has, for better or for worse, seeped into our pop culture unconscious, and that means it carries with it a lot of baggage. For instance, the piece frequently sneaks its way into soundtracks that have no other traces of music from the so-called Classical or Romantic eras. "Fur Elise" therefore lends itself to abuse because of its familiarity, for it is often thrown into a drama, anime, etc. as a "shortcut" to convey a sense of sadness, mystery, etc. without any appreciation for the composer or even the piece's own compositional merit. There are mountains worth of untouched works by Beethoven and by countless other composers that match the elegance and memorability of "Fur Elise," yet they remain unheard by all but the staunchest musicophiles....

Pseudo-professorial talk aside, though, I do enjoy the main theme. I enjoy the little hints of counterpoint gives I only wish that it didn't have a habit of crowding the ever-shrinking spotlight of classical music.

2) Rondo is one of my least favorite forms, to be frank, especially in Classical and Early Romantic music. I find the repetition of the A section, regardless of the rondo in question, to be tiresome by the end, and the sections in-between are so often disorienting when the piece begins in a minor key. I can't say much for "Fur Elise" individually, though, other than agreeing that B section is jarring! Those three pick-up chords leading into the passage sound especially odd, and the fact that they're played staccato(ish) in most performances and with a strong crescendo doesn't help! (Perhaps, though, to 18th- and 19th- century sensibilities, the whole rondo would've sounded perfectly coherent and pleasing!)

Great responses, thanks everyone! Time to pick the next pieces to discuss. You guys pick.

With sheet music for convenience:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_VCbnqbwwA

woah :P haha, I can honestly say that I really don't know what to say :P haha, I mean it's a nice song, but I don't play violin and I haven't played piano long enough to really know if the piano and violin go together and the rythms are good and all :P I mean, just listening to it as someone who hasn't heard/played it before, I know that it sounds really nice :P

I guess I'll just sit back and read the other comments :)

woah, too many :P's haha... my bad!

I've never liked the ending to the first movement because it came on too abruptly for my liking. The second movement though is beautiful.

~~

Moving along the same genre, piano concertos and Chopin don't go well together in my opinion. Sure, he's a great composer and pianist, but orchestration is not his strong suit. I feel that he doesn't have the proper balance between the piano and orchestra, as his two concertos mostly serve to showcase the soloist. In addition, his orchestral sections/melodies don't sound like Chopin at all. I don't know how to explain it.

Piano concerto no. 1
1st movement: not bad overall
2nd movement: heavenly
3rd movement: fun but often performed too slowly

Piano concerto no. 2
1st movement: doesn't have the same impact/quality as his first concerto's opening movement
2nd movement: heavenly
3rd movement: not bad, coda makes up for the first movement

I can't think of the next piece for us to analyze, but I still want to keep this thread alive. Somebody please choose!