Piano Piece Pick of the Day #7 - The Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Act Two of the ballet Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian probably needs no introduction.
To find a great piano transcription that does it justice while bringing out the beautiful love theme however, can be quite a task. But, I have recently found one on the web (possibly by Emin Khachaturian, Aram's nephew) and wanted to share it with all here. Enjoy!
I was playing this piece earlier (after watching an... See More
Piano Piece Pick of the Day #7 - The Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Act Two of the ballet Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian probably needs no introduction.
To find a great piano transcription that does it justice while bringing out the beautiful love theme however, can be quite a task. But, I have recently found one on the web (possibly by Emin Khachaturian, Aram's nephew) and wanted to share it with all here. Enjoy!
I was playing this piece earlier (after watching an encore of 童话 by Eng Wee at the URA Centre), and I must say that the Adagio of Spartacus and Phryigia is quite a challenge for the uninitiated, but definitely navigable for experienced sight readers.
The score for the Adagio is here
I prefer the original orchestral version whereby during the climax, the strings play in triple-diap (octaves) layers for the main melody while the trumpets play the counter melody. My friend... See More
I prefer the original orchestral version whereby during the climax, the strings play in triple-diap (octaves) layers for the main melody while the trumpets play the counter melody. My friend Martin calls it, "Emotional Peak"!
Though this piano solo arrangement/transcription adheres largely to the piece, during the climax it falls short of one important counter melody (from 5:20 to 5:22), namely the notes G#, highF then... See More
Though this piano solo arrangement/transcription adheres largely to the piece, during the climax it falls short of one important counter melody (from 5:20 to 5:22), namely the notes G#, highF then B (originally by the trumpets).
Well, I guess you can't win them all with piano reductions. Or, maybe you could add in the counter melody yourself.
But I am guessing it is a balance of wanting a transcription to be... See More
Well, I guess you can't win them all with piano reductions. Or, maybe you could add in the counter melody yourself.
But I am guessing it is a balance of wanting a transcription to be accurate vs the transcription being playable by pianists. Which was why the counter melody was not added.