What piece of music never fails to make you smile or feel uplifted, and why?

Kathy Abrahamson Another top choice that popped in my head, also!

Nadia that's a great one! :-)

Nadia Wow!  That is what popped into MY head also!

Gail Starr I've told you before, and I'll say it again: Brahms Op. 34 is my favorite piece of chamber music for any larger ensemble (trio and above), hands down! Spectacular music. 

Alexander Weymann SO true!

Alexander Weymann Do you know the two-piano version? Yet another way to experience this masterpiece. I recommend the recording by Yefim Bronfman and Emmanuel Ax.

If memory serves, Brahms originally wrote the piece as a string quintet. He sent it to Clara and she suggested that it needed the piano sound. So he transformed it into the two-piano version, sent it to her, and she said (not verbatim :-) "no, dummy, I wanted you to add the piano", which resulted in the piano quintet. The original version went into Brahms' famous fireplace, but he did publish the two-piano version.

Don Allen thank you! I know OF the two-piano version, but I have never heard it, so I'll be sure to check out that Bronfman/Ax recording now. 

And I did know that Brahms wrote and destroyed twenty string quartets before he published his first one, but I had no idea that the original incarnation of Op. 34 was among them! That story is hilarious... :-) 

Don Allen You and Alex know SO many amazing stories!

Gail Starr BTW, I'm taking a break from the Brahms until my LH tendonitis is all better.  Plus, my string quartet friends are all on vacation for the rest of the month anyway.

Gail Starr I actually don't think I can hold a candle to Don Allen in that regard! 🙂

Alherne cupido Gerre Hancock once said of his young and very young choristers at St. Thomas in Manhattan: "If these kids knew how hard this music is, they could never sing it.". That's what I was thinking as I was listening to this little wunderkind play the piano. Amazing. 

Alexander Weymann my thoughts are that these kids advance so fast they they leave little room for progression by the time they reach adulthood. I could be wrong of course. There are some good examples of very talented pianists (eg Yuja Wang; Tiffany Poon etc) but I still think one has to be careful not to peak too early. What are your thoughts Alexander?

Alherne cupido an absolutely valid point and a concern I very much share. The years of adolescence are treacherous waters through which only a few of these early prodigies navigate successfully into artistic maturity. Your example of Yuja Wang is a good one; of an older generation, we have Evgeny Kissin; before that, Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim etc.. I think this little girl will be very lucky if she is allowed to organically and safely grow and develop into a well-rounded musician; watching this video, my hopes for that to happen are not high. I was merely marveling at the ease and innocence with which she tosses off these super fast, virtuosic passages that would seem fearsome and forbidding to the average older pianist. There is a careless daring about her playing that I find charming and joyful.

Alherne cupido I’ve been a Patreon supporter of Tiffany for a long time.  She is a very thoughtful young woman. 😊

Gail Starr she is an amazing pianist Gail. I’ve been a follower of hers too. Very generous in every way. 

Michelle R I absolutely love that piece, too! Dominic performs it beautifully

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Michelle R You may enjoy this past Livestream: https://app.tonebase.co/piano/home?tbModal=artistProfileModal&tbModalSlug=DominicCheli

Pauline Thanks, Pauline! Totally made me smile and feel uplifted (thanks Dominic Cheli , too, then!). I'll check out the livestream next week. Tonight, live music: Bach on the accordion (with violin). It sounds like an interesting concept.