Chopin's Funeral march, the slow movement from his 2nd sonata Op. 35, stands out as an archetype for such an occasion - but what is it about the music that makes it that way? Pianist Henrik Kilhamn finds out in this episode by going through the piece one section at a time. There is also another famous march from the film score repertoire that uses the same chords!

Analysis and performance (11:38)

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn takes on the second movement in Scriabin's sparkling piano sonata no. 2, Op. 19, titled "Sonata-Fantasy". It's a turbo fast Presto with a never-ending stram of notes, a Moto Perpetuo. The form is a kind of Sonata-Rondo, alternating the cascading waves with a developmental, legato section without ever losing its intensity.

Analysis and performance (13.03)

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn goes through the first movement of Scriabin's amazing piano sonata no. 2, op. 19 titled "Sonata-Fantasy". There are two sides to the music: one firm, gripping statement of a signal reoccuring throughout the movement, the other completely opposite of free-floating, improvisational bliss. The two characters are juxtaposed in the middle and are developed in some genius ways of piano writing.

Analysis and performance (23:51)

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn takes a closer look at Chopin's famous Raindrop prelude. The repeated notes present during the whole piece represents raindrops, which haunted Chopin in his stay in Valldemossa, Mallorca, in the winter of 1838.

Analysis: 2:20, Performance: 15:01.

This is one of the most sad piano pieces out there. In this video, pianist Henrik Kilhamn explains how Chopin manage to capture such sadness in his music, and where the prelude fits within music history. It's all about the slow, pulsating chords - every new chromatical shift between them explores a new nuance in the dark side of our emotional spectrum.

Analysis and performance (12:17)

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn presents Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar's most famous piece, Fantasy no. 1 in B minor. It contains great power and adventure as well as beautiful lyrical sections, all the time employing a lot of mediant relationships and motivic development.

Analysis and profrmance (17:51).

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn interprets Schubert's amazing Impromptu Op. 90 no. 3 in G flat major. The calm lyrical outer sections surrounds a dramatic middle section with tension and turmoil. But which is the real state, and which is the dream?

Performance: 22:52

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn attempts an analysis of Satie's emblematic and relaxing Gymnopedie no. 1. The music doesn't behave the way we expect it to; it moves around in modal ways, meandering through constantly shifting tonal centers. It's hard to even decide what key it's in, because of the initial oscillation between two Maj7 chords.

Analysis and performance (15:54)

Henrik Kilhamn explains this well known piece that actually consists of two parts between the two composers. Bach uses one musical idea of the arpeggio pattern throughout the prelude and changes the harmony one step at a time, creating a wonderful sense of assuring and relieving. 130 years later, Gounod wrote a melody to the prelude as accompaniment, which is now known as Ave Maria.

Performance of Ave Maria: 8:39.

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn explains this Chopin Nocturne in A flat major, where Chopin fuses the Nocturne style with a crazy waltz middle section. The initial melody is at first comfortable and reassuring, but after the wlatz section it returns in fortissimo and apassionato!

Performance: 13:05