Music in B-flat Major

B-flat Major is like a warm bath. It is mellow and serene, and can also be elegant and subtle. It is the key of cheerful love, a clear conscience, and aspiration for a better world. Its color is blue, or turquoise. It is neither as sweet and endearing as F Major, nor as bold and profound as E-flat Major. Although two more definite keys overshadow B-flat Major, it can make the best of both worlds and be especially poignant.

B-flat has the pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor.

Many transposing instruments are pitched in B-flat major, including the clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone. As a result, B-flat major is one of the most popular keys for concert band compositions.

Note that in most central and northern European languages (German, Hungarian, Nordic, Baltic, West Slavic and most South Slavic languages), the pitch B is usually called "H", while B-flat is called "B".

Some famous works in B-flat major are: symphony no. 102 (1794) - Joseph Haydn; piano concerto no. 2 (1787-1789) - Ludwig van Beethoven; symphony no. 4 (1806) - Ludwig van Beethoven; symphony no. 5 (1816) - Franz Schubert; piano sonata no. 29 (1817-1818) - Ludwig van Beethoven; symphony no. 1 (1841) - Robert Schumann; symphony no.  5 (1875-1876) - Anton Bruckner; piano concerto no. 2 (1878-1881) - Johannes Brahms; and symphony no. 5 (1944) - Sergej Prokofjev.

Characteristic music in B-flat Major

George Frideric Handel, Harp Concerto Op 4 No 6 in B-flat major, HWV 294

Written in 1738, this concerto in B flat major was originally written for the Welsh harpist William Powell for performance in Alexander's Feast. In three movements, it reflects Handel's early style. It is scored for harp and/or organ, strings and two alto recorders. It has a typically warm sound.

The movements are: Andante allegro - Larghetto - Allegro moderato.

Sarah Ridy: Triple Harp with the Barrocade Ensemble

Francois Couperin, Les Barricades Mystérieuses

Les Barricades mystérieuses is a harpsichord piece composed by François Couperin in 1717, in the key of B-flat major, from his second book of harpsichord pieces.

The work is in rondeau form, a variant of the traditional romanesca with four beats in the bass rather than the more usual ternary rhythm. It consists of a refrain and 3 verses of unequal length. The four parts create a shifting tapestry of melody and harmony. The overlapping melodies and different rhythmic arrangements create a shimmering, kaleidoscopic and seductive trompe-l'oeil effect of sound, evoking, by anticipation of several centuries, the images of "fractal mathematics." The score is marked "vividly". The piece thus combines a certain vivacity with a melancholic and mysterious character.

The title of this piece is just as mysterious as the music itself. Some link the title to the characteristics of the music, the continuous suspensions being a barricade to the basic harmony, generating an enigmatic impasse. Others find the title evocative of such things as a barrier between past and present or present and future, or the boundary between life and death - and when objects are mentioned. some even seem to think of a belt of chastity or the eyelashes of women in the salons of the 17th century!

Hanneke van Proosdij, harpsichord

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No 27 in B-flat major, K 595

This concerto happens to be Mozart's final work in a form he alone had developed to such artistic and virtuosic heights. The B-flat concerto is mellow and affectingly reticent. It is also singularly uncomplicated, existing on its own simple plane of subdued intimacy. The mellow tone of the work conveys a composure and a kind of mature serenity that are amazing considering the composer’s multiple life agonies. The melodies are direct, the passagework limpid and relatively undemanding, in complete contrast to the glitter and brilliance – and superficiality – of the “Coronation” Concerto that preceded this one. The frequent reliance on the winds enhances the warmth that is the most prominent feature of the concerto.

Indeed, mellowness is implicit in the Concerto – in the floating lyricism of the first movement; in the second movement’s hushed revelations and pristine, operatic miniaturism; and in the finale’s good humor. Mozart closes the door on his incomparable piano concerto literature without heroics, without self pity – with just a smile which, to be sure, carried at its corners a touch of the sad resignation he must have been experiencing at the time.

Maria João Pires, piano, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Trevor Pinnock


 

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke"

Beethoven radically changed the genre of the piano trio, and his work continued to evolve, culminating in a magnificent work of enormous scope and deep emotion. The Piano Trio in B-flat Major was completed in 1811 at the age of 41. It was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, who was the Emperor's younger brother and Beethoven's piano pupil, and therefore nicknamed "Grand Duke." In fact, this is a very suitable appellation, as it encompasses more than just the person to whom it is dedicated. The music is grand and noble, expansive and mellow, and the work itself is one of the great noble works in the literature of the piano trio. The trio is characterized by a warm, emotional style with widely sung, moderately paced melodies and attractive dance rhythms. There are no grandiose fugues, no shocking destruction, no transcendental asides, no relentless attempts to radically dismantle the music. Instead, there is rich beauty, gentle vitality and humor.

1. Allegro moderato. B-flat major, 4/4 time, sonata form.
This movement is among the noblest music ever written, regardless of the scoring. It presents a glorious theme that characterizes the trio. The movement begins with an imposing legato theme in the piano. The violin follows, supported by the cello. Through its chords, the B-flat major of the movement is contrasted with the keys of G major and E-flat major instead of the dominant F major. The second theme is in G major. It is a calm transitional section with the scale as the motive. The center is placed on the piano, but the strings also skillfully complement the harmony. A pianissimo is followed by the recapitulation, accompanied by some quiet chromatic trills, at the end of which the tonic and the main theme are heard again. The development follows, in E-flat major, whose pizzicato passages find their precursors in Beethoven's String Quartets No. 7 in F major, Op. 59.1 (the first "Razumovsky Quartet") and No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 74 (the "Harp Quartet"). The delayed dominant at the beginning of the coda is followed by a series of expressive cadenzas, as in Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, the first "Appassionata." The closing section ends with the theme from the beginning played over an arpeggio on the piano, and ends with a flourish.

2. Allegro. B-flat major, 3/4 time.
A bright scherzo, full of Beethoven's sparkling and good-natured humor. The theme of the scherzo is no more than a scale, but embellished with variations and counterpoint it becomes extraordinarily entertaining. The trio's first theme, in B-flat minor fugato, is juxtaposed with a second trio theme in the style of a Viennese waltz.

3. Andante Cantabile. D major, 3/4 time, variation form.
The broad and noble theme of the third movement, conceived in D major, is followed by four variations, showcasing Beethoven's inexhaustible ingenuity. Tthe simple and haunting melody is expanded into sublime poetry.

4. Allegro moderato - Presto. B-flat major, 2/4 - 6/8 time, rondo form.
The lively final movement alternates between tonic and subdominant several times, echoing the beginning of the first movement. After an extended sonata rondo form, the movement ends in an joyous A major coda whose cadences also recall the first movement.

Camerata Pacifica

Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata in B-flat major No. 21, D. 960

Composed in September 1828, this piano sonata concludes the trilogy of piano sonatas (C minor, A major, and this work) from the composer's later years and is also the last piano sonata written by Schubert.

1st movement, Molto moderato. B-flat major, 4/4 time, sonata form.
The piece begins with the first theme, which has few leaps, but is mellow and song-like. After a meditative bass trill, the melody of the theme is suddenly sung in G-flat major, and the piece proceeds slowly. The second theme begins with a slow marching duet in F-sharp minor, which moves through A major, B minor, and D minor before returning to B-flat major and eventually leading to a F-major codetta. After the presentation is repeated again with trills in the bass clef, the development begins in C-sharp minor, but the modulation is repeated in various ways, leading to a meditative section with a series of trills.

2nd movement Andante sostenuto. C-sharp minor, 3/4 time, three-part form.
This movement is written in ternary form, and is in the key of C-sharp minor – the most tonally remote inner movement in Schubert's mature instrumental works in sonata form. In the main section, a somber melody is presented over a relentless rocking rhythm in a texture swimming in pedal. The central section is written in A major and presents a choral melody over an animated accompaniment; it later touches upon B-flat major, the sonata's home key. The main section returns with a variant of the original accompanying rhythm. This time, the tonal scheme is more unusual: after a half cadence on the dominant, a sudden, mysterious harmonic shift introduces the remote key of C major. This eventually turns into E major, and proceeds as before. The coda shifts to the tonic major but is still haunted by glimpses of the minor mode.

3rd movement Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatessen - Trio. B-flat major, 3/4 time, compound trio form.
The theme is repeated in modulation in a graceful, treble-centered style. This theme was developed from the accompaniment to the song "An die Laute" composed the previous year in 1827. The trio changes to B-flat minor and shows a short but somber sentiment.

4th movement Allegro ma non troppo - Presto. Sonata form in B-flat major, 2/4 time.
Many elements of this movement imply large-scale resolution of harmonic and thematic conflicts established earlier in this and even the two previous sonatas. The main rondo theme opens with an 'empty' octave on G, which resolves to C minor, subsequently interpreted as in B-flat major. The second theme, in ternary form, is written in the traditional key of the dominant, with a central section in D major; it consists of an extended, characteristically Schubertian stepwise melody played over an uninterrupted flow of semiquavers. After an abrupt end to the second theme and a pregnant pause, a minor dotted-rhythm chordal theme in F-minor suddenly enters fortissimo, elaborating and modulating before sublimating into a pianissimo version of itself in the parallel major. In the coda, the main theme is fragmented - in a highly chromatic and unstable progression, the octave on G here descends through G-flat to F, in an extension of the G-G-flat-F resolution of the theme. After finally reaching this dominant preparation for the final time, the movement closes with an exceedingly triumphant and affirming presto section that totally resolves all dramatic conflicts in the sonata.

András Schiff

Johannes Brahms - Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major, Op 83

Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It took him three years to work on this concerto which indicates that he was always self-critical. The public premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on 9 November 1881, with Brahms as soloist and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and was an immediate success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe. It is a mellow concerto with a very warm character - typically B-flat Major.

1. Allegro non troppo. B-flat major, 4/4 time, sonata form.
The first movement is essentially carried by two themes. The first, first performed by horn and piano together, is lyrical in nature, while the second is agile and dance-like. The connection with the development occurs through a shorter tutti section. In this the various motives are linked and the themes are varied in character. This occurs in a kind of dialogue between orchestra and piano. The recapitulation is again structurally independent. It rearranges the various thematic components of the beginning and leaves room for virtuosity and figuration.

2. Allegro appassionato. D minor
The second movement takes on the role of a scherzo. However, it has only the 3/4 time and the trio part in common with this form. The latter is entitled Largamente. Predominantly, as in the previous movement, the theme is processed in the manner of the sonata form.

3. Andante. B-flat major, 6/4 time, compound three-part form.
The theme of the slow movement, which resembles a song, is performed by a solo cello. Trumpet and timpani are not used from this movement. Like the oboe in the second movement of the Violin Concerto, the theme is presented by the cello soloist, not by the piano. The movement has traits of both three-part song form and variation. Melodic leadership is passed from the piano to the cello and to the clarinet in the middle section.

4. Allegretto grazioso. B-flat major, 2/4 time, rondo form.
The final movement is a cheerful rondo finale, inspired by the Hungarian style. The piano and orchestra introduce the dotted main theme, which is followed by a kind of cantilena played by the woodwinds. The piano develops this further and reinterprets it figuratively. The main theme is repeated twice. This is followed by the second episode theme, this time played by the piano. Similar to the main theme, it contains dotting, but has been augmented with a turning figuration. Again, an elegiac woodwind part follows. This is connected to the coda by an Un poco più presto.

Emanuel Ax with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Bernard Haitink
 

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