"The toddler's labor day has begun. His gait is hurried, though somewhat lurching. Already in the first bars its initial rhythm is conveyed. We have to have time to see everything, not to miss anything, in general, there is a lot to do… The graphic contouring of the melody and the character of continuous movement with the tapping of quarters are intended to create a flavor of childishly naive concentrated «businesslikeness». However, the lightness of the slightly waltzing rhythm immediately brings this «businesslike» into the appropriate framework of childish «diligence»."
(V. Delson, "Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism")

"This is like an epigraph to the suite: the morning of life. In the juxtaposition of registers one can feel space, air! The melody is slightly dreamy and crystal clear. The handwriting is characteristically Prokofievian: parallel movements, covering the entire keyboard, playing through the hand, clarity of rhythm and definite sections. Extraordinary simplicity, but not primitive."
(V. Delson, "Prokofiev's Piano Works and Pianism")

The origins of Johann Sebastian Bach's four orchestral suites go back to the court of Louis XIV and his brilliant composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. In keeping with French taste, Lully's operas abounded with instrumental dances. Outside of opera performances, this music took on a life of its own in the form of suites with dance movements.

Typically, the center of attention in an orchestral suite was the opening section, a French overture consisting of two large, repeating parts: the first was majestic, with marked rhythms; the second was lively, fugal, but usually ending with a return to the majestic spirit (and sometimes themes) of the first section. The overture was followed by a loosely organized suite of dances in the same vein.

The third suite is written for three clarino trumpets, timpani and two oboes (the addition of bassoon in the basso continuo part is implied). Such instrumentation suggests joy, and it is certainly present in the suite, but there is also a wide range of other moods. The overture follows a typical form in which the oboes duplicate the violins most of the time. The fugal vite section is particularly effervescent, and at the end it is softened by a return to the stately rhythms of the opening section.

The Air that follows, for strings alone, is perhaps the best known and most sublime movement among Bach's orchestral suites. The long line of the first violin unfolds its cantilena against a striding bass line, while the inner strings provide support and occasional counterpoint commentary.

The rest of the suite is written for full orchestra. A pair of gavottes are performed first, the first joyous and aristocratic, the second in the manner of a stately country dance with a recurring opening motif. In the moving Bourrée, the strings lead the main lines and the other instruments emphasize the characteristic rhythms. In the final Gigue, the high trumpets stand out. Their lines, supported by the entire orchestra, dialog with the strings alone, concluding the suite in an atmosphere of celebration.

The Minuet in D minor, BWV Anh. 132 is a small and popular Baroque piece traditionally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but in the BWV catalog it is listed under “Anhang” (additional or unconfirmed works). This means that the authorship of this minuet is not fully confirmed or is somewhat doubted by researchers.

It is a classical minuet, a short dance genre characteristic of the Baroque period.
The minuet usually consists of two parts, A and B (or two repeating sections), with a characteristic rhythmic structure and melodic simplicity.
In this case, the minuet is written in D minor, which gives it a more melancholy and expressive mood.
It is a simple, memorable melody with a clear rhythm.
The harmonic structure is typical of the Baroque era - using sequences and harmonic progressions typical of Bach's style.

This work is often used for teaching purposes for beginning pianists and Baroque music lovers due to its accessibility and expressiveness.

Although it is not considered one of Bach's major masterpieces, the miniature is appreciated for its beauty, simplicity, and characteristic Baroque aesthetic.

Concerto for Clavier and Orchestra № 5, is also a transcription of the lost violin concerto, now often performed in a reverse arrangement. This work stands out for its combination of dramatic tension, which immediately grips the listener from the first bars, and its minimalist performance style - in length it is one of the shortest in the series.

Consists of three movements:

Allegro
Largo
Presto

The first movement is filled with a stark and powerful main theme, with a characteristic interplay - an “echo” - between soloist and orchestra that is a prime example of Bach's thematicism. The improvisatory manner in which the solo part is performed gives special expressiveness to the climactic moments.

The second movement, Largo in A flat major, is a lyrical “retreat”. To create a special mood, subtle and transparent instrumentation is used here: the graceful, sublime melody, decorated with figurations, is entirely centered on the soloist, accompanied by light chords of strings. This movement was also used by the composer as an introduction to Cantata No 156, where it is performed by the oboe.

The third movement, Presto, returns to more dramatic imagery. The main theme here resembles the ritournelle of the first movement and also contains an “echo” effect. In the finale, dance features are also evident: a fast rhythm in triple time with a movement reminiscent of the old French dance of minuet or paspe.

One of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, part of a collection of 19th-century short pieces assembled from various 18th-century manuscripts written by Johann Sebastian Bach and other authors.

The story of the writing of this prelude is related to the period when Bach lived in Köthen and in his early years in Leipzig, where he became tomaskantor in 1723. In January 1720 he began work on the Klavierbüchlein for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann to help him in his studies.

The Prelude opens Volume 1 of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a cycle of preludes and fugues for keyboard instruments by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Written in 4/4 in sixteenth durations, it has two voices. The harmony of the prelude is generally similar to that of Bach's time. Its tempo is not too fast. In its deviations, the prelude indirectly touches many tonalities in which preludes and fugues will be written later. On the whole, the Prelude gives rise to a feeling of infinity, of immense space, and this is helped by the “pure” tonality of C major. A sense of lightness and spaciousness appears.

This sonata is a relatively simple work, less refined than most other piano sonatas. Surprisingly, there are no dynamic indications in the autograph and first edition. It is considered to be the lighter of the two ‘light sonatas’ and also the simplest of all Beethoven's piano sonatas

Debussy, before other serious composers, began to use new dances and music-hall rhythms in his work. According to I. V. Nesteev: "This is one of the first attempts to embody in a serious genre the infectious element of Negro dance and everyday music of the pre-jazzˮ period.

This number is also known for the deliberate quotation in the middle section of the love theme (tristan chord) from R. Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde. Having become a kind of Wagnerian slogan in its time, this motif in Debussy sounds like a witty joke.

The theme from Tristan, accompanied by the author's remark “with great feeling”, appears surrounded by chords that seem to imitate laughter. It is well known that Debussy had previously been a great admirer of Wagner's music, but later grew cold to it, a fact he repeatedly expressed in his critical articles and interviews. According to popular legend, Debussy told the pianist Harold Bauer (an ardent Wagnerian) that he could make him laugh at Wagner in public. Bauer was utterly bewildered, but after playing the suite, Debussy pointed out to the pianist fragments from “A Doll's Cack-Walk”, where a quotation of a motif from “Tristan und Isolde” is followed by music imitating laughter. As Kremlev Y. A. notes, this legend is reported by N. L. Slonimsky in his book “The road to music” (The road to music): “and we must admit that it agrees well with our ideas about Debussy's humor in general.” According to another version, the composer said nothing to Bauer about the Wagner quote and he learned about it from musicological literature in the 1930s.

Debussy recorded “Puppet Cac-uoc” in his own performance on a Pleyel mechanical piano tape.

Sonata was written in 1792 in the city of Bonn and, together with the other two sonatas in the Op. 2 series, was dedicated to his teacher Joseph Haydn. Interestingly, Beethoven himself considered these works very successful as he dedicated them to his mentor, who was very critical of himself.

These three sonatas were published in 1796, but even earlier they were actively discussed among professional musicians and specialists. Although this was not his first experience of composing for piano - he had previously written several such works - it is these sonatas that are considered to be the beginning of his famous piano work, for which he was later widely recognised.

The influence of Haydn and Mozart can often be seen in Beethoven's early works. However, despite this, his first sonatas already have their own originality and individuality, which over time developed into the composer's unique style and allowed his music to stand the test of time.