RobertCunninghamsMusic

On the weekend of February 21-22, I recorded my interpretations of three great solos from the pianist's repertoire. On Saturday, I first sat down to my freshly-tuned Bösendorfer and performed the second movement from J. S. Bach's Italian Concerto. (The Italian Concerto, despite its title, is written for a solo keyboard instrument.) I have played the Italian Concerto various times ever since my early teenage years. The outer movements are energetic and a bit ostentatious, but over time my favorite movement has become this rhapsodic Andante, described by some as the "jewel" of the work.

On Sunday, I recorded a piece by Gerald Wilhelm Braden, a Vienna-born composer who came to the United States as a teenager. Braden feels a deep kinship with the classical and early Romantic traditions of his native Austria, and his compositions (like my own) are tonal and relatively traditional. He has received multiple first place awards in international composition competitions, and his orchestral music in particular has become popular in Europe. I recorded his piano composition Frühling ("Spring" in German), for which he had sent me the score about a year ago.

Also on Sunday, I recorded the Melody in F by the great Russian composer-pianist Anton Rubinstein. I first became enchanted by this piece as a child, when I heard it in an arrangement for cello and piano. After I grew older, I learned that Rubinstein had originally written it for piano solo, so I resolved to learn it someday. I used the edition by Leopold Godowsky, who adds some pleasing embellishments not in Rubinstein's original score.

I will be uploading the videos from these recording sessions to YouTube over the next three months, beginning with Frühling on March 25, which is close to the vernal equinox (March 20). I have developed two videos from the Frühling recording, one of which is customized to my channel (https://www.youtube.com/) and the other to the composer's channel (https://www.youtube.com/). Braden uploaded the latter video just a couple of days ago, so you can get a sneak preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEw1yPJbDlA. :)

The soundtracks from these three recordings will also be coming to my SoundCloud site ("lateRomantic") over the months ahead.

I am pleased to announce that a score video of the premiere recording of my Hymn to the Night is now on YouTube. I composed this setting of Longfellow's poem for SATB chorus with piano accompaniment in 1984. A performance of the work was scheduled at that time, but that concert was cancelled due to a power outage brought on by a storm. Finally, on September 28 of last year, this music was recorded and also performed for a live audience by the Vineville (GA) United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, directed by Cannon McClain, with myself at the piano. In this new video, you can follow along with the score as you listen to that performance. If you enjoy Romantic works like this one, I invite you to subscribe to my channel! 🙂

Hymn to the Night (with score) by Robert Cunningham, words by Longfellow Robert Cunningham's Hymn to the Night, presented with the score. Based on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, set for SATB chorus with piano accompanime...