Understanding a classical music listing
The listing information about a classical concert is mostly obvious, but there are a few aspects that may need explaining. For example, take the Great Performers concert on Tuesday November 17:
Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields directed by pianist Murray Perahia.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 17 in G, K453; JS Bach’s Piano Concerto No 3 in D, BWV1054; and Mozart’s Symphony No 38 (‘Prague’).
The performers' names often appear first. After all, it is their abilities that determine the standard of the concert experience more than the repertoire. Here, the period-instrument orchestra (their instruments are from the actual period of the music they play and are hundreds of years old), the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, is playing with the American concert pianist Murray Perahia.
Directed by – because one of the musicians, in this case the pianist Murray Perahia, is effectively conducting and playing at the same time. In the final symphony he will just be conducting.
JS Bach – the composer’s first name or initials are sometimes given in order to differentiate them from other composers with the same surname. In this case Johann Sebastian Bach has been specified in relation to his famous sons, who included Johann Christian and Carl Philipp Emanuel.
K453 – this is the catalogue number of this particular piece of music by Mozart. The K refers to the surname of the cataloguer, Ludwig von Köchel (1800-77), who was a private tutor, amateur naturalist and, clearly, Mozart enthusiast. The catalogue is a definitive list of a composer’s works that helps to differentiate them and prevent others’ efforts being passed off as theirs.
BWV1054 – ‘Bach Werke-Verzeichnis’ (‘Index to Bach’s Works’) was compiled and edited by the musicologist Wolfgang Schmieder (1901-90) and published in 1950. As the number 1054 indicates, this catalogue is a monumental endeavour.
Prague – the pet name for this symphony because, although not specifically written for the Czech capital, it was premiered there and became extremely popular in that city. Such extra names are often a conceit by the publisher and not the composer.
By Jonathan Lennie
Murray Perahia - © Nana Watanabe
