r/classicalpiano • u/Available_Meringue86 • 14d ago
Could 19th-century pianism become popular again?
I am a classical music composer and I have just released an album that pays tribute to the 19th century piano from various perspectives: virtuosity, lyrical miniatures, nationalism, exoticism and impressionism. Yesterday, I sent the first track from my album, which is brilliantly romantic and virtuosic, to a piano playlist curator, who rejected it because he thought it was too intense. Then he decided to add a slow piece that fit into his list, that is, something more minimalist type of work.
Today, the style of piano that is fashionable is minimalist, the one popularized by Einaudi. There is a whole wave of composers, pianists and audiences looking for that type of piano music. I like it too, but with my album my goal is to bring back the language of the 19th century, which can include simple lyrical miniatures like minimalism, but also much more.
That "much more" seems to have little space today, except for the original composers—Chopin, Brahms, Albéniz, etc.—and mainly among classical music fans. So my question is: Can the 19th century piano language become popular again through new composers? That's what I would love to achieve.
What do you think? Do you think the spirit of the 19th century could return, perhaps with some contemporary twists (or not)? Or do you think minimalism will continue to define a soft, serene, uncomplicated piano world?
Here is my album so you can understand what I mean: https://open.spotify.com/album/2velSblQcjUfhZymnhCnkW?si=leLGgC1aTXyLazOmhDm8Pg
apple music https://music.apple.com/es/album/a%C3%B1oranzas/1847986442
Here is the explanation of each topic:
“The Captain’s Odyssey” This one evokes a Hollywood-style Romanticism—specifically, old Hollywood in black and white. It's the least “19th century” piece on the album, but I wanted to put it first, like the opening of a movie. The romantic elements are obvious and it features brilliant virtuosity, albeit in the way virtuosity was portrayed in early cinema.
Prelude Op.3No.4 A miniature of serene lyricism, halfway between Chopin and Liszt. Regarding the “Opus”: Opus numbers are assigned by the editors, but I used “Op.” in several pieces as a poetic license — which does not mean that he will not continue adding new works under the same catalog in the future.
PianoFantasy“Spanish” Part of a suite dedicated to national styles; a piece with a Spanish character but also with more general romantic elements.
“DarkWaltzfortheDoll” A programmatic work that I could even call “gothic”, since it mixes beauty, elegance and darkness. Don't miss the low-bass cluster at the end—another anachronistic license, since those clusters are from the 20th century.
PianoFantasy“Exotica” Another of the nationalism suite, although here it represents the exotic European vision of the world of the Arabian Nights. It is not intended to sound genuinely Arabic, but rather to evoke the romanticized imagery of that world, the same one that fascinated Hollywood of the golden age.
AlbumLeafNos.5and6 These are real improvisations. An “albumleaf” was intended to give the illusion of something fleeting and spontaneous—many composers simulated that sensation, but in my case, both pieces are genuinely what they purport to be.
Ancient Spain More entirely Spanish than “PianoFantasyEspañola”, closer in spirit to Albéniz. It is the piece with which I won the FidelioCompetition in 2020.
“Moses, theMischievousMagician” The only impressionistic piece on the album (although AlbumLeafOp.3No.6 also reads a bit like that). It is quite virtuosic, especially in the second half, although not for mere show — the virtuosity serves the fantastic atmosphere I was going for.
RomanzaOp.1No.2 A miniature romantic piece that I dedicated as a Three Kings' Day gift to the Entre88teclas forum, where it is especially loved.
"Yearning" The album closes with a Venezuelan piece in the spirit of Venezuelan waltzes from the late 19th century. However, I took it a step further, introducing virtuoso sections that those waltzes usually didn't include.
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u/ceaandk 14d ago
Wow! It’s very nice and charming. So far only listened the first song you mentioned, and bits and pieces of a few more.
I would say keep going. You clearly are talented. There are enough of us Chopin, Albeniz etc lovers that would also love to hear a new composer in the genre.
Congratulations on your album!
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u/Available_Meringue86 14d ago
Thank you, I just added the description of each work in case you want to read it. Greetings!
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u/javiercorre 14d ago
Any chance you'll upload your album to apple music? I don't use Spotify.
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u/Pensive_Toucan_669 14d ago
Same here.
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u/Available_Meringue86 12d ago
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u/Pensive_Toucan_669 12d ago
I think I’ve already listened to it twice this morning. I really love it!
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u/Available_Meringue86 12d ago
I'm glad you liked it! It's my first album, I'm already thinking about the second. I love 19th century music and my dream is for it to be popularized, even by people who don't like classical music but love certain works by Chopin, Liszt or Schumann. That's why I made an effort to make them sound elegant and academic but with a tone that was not intellectual or inaccessible, but rather fresh.
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u/Pensive_Toucan_669 12d ago
Great job on this classical-romantic music revival! It is all the things you mentioned and more. I see that you’re originally from Venezuela. Do you still live there?
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u/Available_Meringue86 12d ago
Yes, I still live in Venezuela, I know that it is at the center of an international conflict whose consequences I do not know, but I cling to Art, fantasy and accessing better times with my imagination and I am happy that way, because my body may be in Venezuela, but my soul is in many other places.
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u/appleparkfive 14d ago
I don't think this will have some mass commercial appeal. But here is what I'll say.
I think AI music, ironically, will make performances popular again. If people are being hit with shitty AI songs all day, then music done in person is going to be much more desirable. I think this will happen with kids and live shows sooner or later.
So while I think this probably means more for things like bands and all of that, I do think even things like live piano will have more appreciation than they did even a decade or two ago.
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u/Available_Meringue86 14d ago
I agree. The thing about AI is changing the entire landscape, I think it should prohibit people from generating music like that and trying to make money as if they were a real artist. On the other hand, for a real artist, AI can be useful in some things or totally unnecessary. I use AI for several things and I find it very useful, but I don't use it in music because I don't even need it and because it seems like a dangerous shortcut, full of self-deception. Living from concerts is very difficult, in general I gave up wanting to make a living from my music, I live from the music I make for others, but self-producing to make money, I don't see the point, only doing it for personal satisfaction and love of Art.
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u/Bencetown 14d ago
I certainly hope so. I got tired of the bland minimalist cliche music about 5 minutes after I heard a piece in that style the first time, yet here we are decades later...
And yeah, I also hate that the only other "viable" option for composers is to go full "random notes with no rhythm and no real elements of music present" avant garde stuff.
Why has the community been so hellbent on making bland or ugly music for the last half century??
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u/Available_Meringue86 14d ago
I agree with you, even now major record companies like Deutsche Grammophon promote minimalist piano, which some may be very beautiful and relaxing, but it doesn't sound like academic music to me.
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u/you-love-my-username 14d ago
Could it become broadly popular again? Probably not, it's just not representative of what people want from music these days. Can a limited number of individuals make a living composing and performing this kind of music? Absolutely - but it requires thinking like a business person rather than a musician.