Week two of our tour through the CBC’s Signature Series of musical personalities takes us to the jovial key of D major. Pietropaolo has dubbed this key “Miss Congeniality.” His selection of D major pieces features a number of well-known works, including Pachabel’s Canon, Handel’s Messiah, and Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony. I love the creativity and imagination of this series, and enjoy the humor that Pietropaolo uses in describing the personalities that he creates. But, I don’t agree with all of his ideas; in D major, I think he’s just skimmed the surface of its possibilities. For example, Haydn found many sides of D major, and explored them by writing 22 of his 104 symphonies in this key. Brahms wrote two of his most complex works in D major: the Violin Concerto and the Second Symphony. Mozart was also a fan, writing String Quartets, Symphonies, Piano Sonatas and Concertos, Serenades, and Violin Concertos in the key. D major is definitely worth exploring!
The CBC Signature Series on D Major includes a Sound Cloud recording of the original radio broadcast. T
he Sound Theology playlist this week includes Handel, Prokofiev, Mahler, and Brahms. ST#129 – D Major