Prelude in C Minor, Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric Chopin referred to as "the poet of the piano", is a polish composer. He composed almost exclusively for the piano. This piece is from his set of 24 preludes, each of which is composed in a different key. According to pianist John Thompson, "This Prelude is suggestive of the solemnity of a funeral procession."

Airtel tune by A. R. Rahman

Today is the 42nd birth anniversary of A. R. Rahman, who in all probability is the greatest composer alive. According to this article in time magazine, he is "the best-selling recording artist in history. His scores have sold more albums than Elvis or the Beatles or all the Jacksons: perhaps 150 million, maybe more." His uniqueness lies in his ability to combine extremely diverse musical tools: state of the art Synthesizers and Audio Processing Software, elements of Classical Music, Oriental Ragas, and a hugely myriad range of instruments and consistently deliver Music that satisfies both the layman listener and the pedantic critic for over a decade.

Here I play the tune he composed for Airtel.

Melody by Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was a famous German composer and music critic. He had short, stubby fingers which hindered him from playing his favorite piano music. In an attempt to expand his hand span, he made wooden blocks and placed them between his fingers before going to bed. Unfortunately, this did not have the desired effect and it only injured his hands!

Prelude in C, J. S. Bach

This is a special performance as I got to play this piece on a vintage German piano at my teacher's house. I felt it's sound was very different and eerie: playing this piano was like going into a different age!

About the Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach was a pioneer of the Baroque era of classical Music. This was an early era which saw several intellectual and innovative feats. Many musical forms and systems followed today were established in this period. As a child, Bach used to walk several miles to listen to music. He had twenty children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. His house was a place where he taught them and many others music!

J. S. Bach's Bourree

This piece 'Bourree from Suite in E minor, BWV 996' is a dance composed almost 300 years ago. It is fascinating to imagine, the hip crowd of this era actually danced to such music in their parties! How do you think they would react, if taken to one of our discos that plays remixes and trance?