[Smt-talk] F SHARP MAJOR

[Stephen Jablonsky]

Eric’s story is terribly amusing and validates my suspicion that there is something special about F sharp major aside from the fact that it is as far away from C major on the Circle of 5ths as you can get. I will continue to collect data from my SMT friends and will report back in a week. Movements qualify for my list but not themes or sections. I do think it is interesting that in the last three hundred years such a small number of pieces are in this key when there are 12  trillion pieces in D. F# major, as many have pointed out, sits very well under the hand on the piano and Irving Berlin knew that better than anyone.

Dr. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.
Music Department Chair
The City College of New York
Shepard Hall Room 72
New York NY 10031
(212) 650-7663
music at ccny.cuny.edu

America's Greatest Chair 
in the low-priced field







On May 19, 2014, at 9:15 AM, Lai, Eric C. <Eric_Lai at baylor.edu> wrote:

> It happened one day during my undergraduate years.  I was practicing Liszt's "Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este" when the door was suddenly flung open and in came one of my theory professors.  He asked, "Is that piece you're playing in F# or Gb?"  I answered, "F-sharp major."  He then looked up to the ceiling, contemplated for a few seconds, and left the room without saying a word.  I am still amused (and puzzled) every time I recall this anecdote.
> 
> BTW, he has one of the most interesting personalities I have ever encountered.  He would always lie down on the pedestrian walkway in front of the school building with his radio next to him because, according to him, that spot had the best reception in the area!
> 
> 
> Eric Lai
> Baylor University
> 
> On May 18, 2014, at 9:38 PM, Stephen Jablonsky <jablonsky at optimum.net> wrote:
> 
>> I know that many of our members in academe are preparing for the end of the school year and have little time for a dalliance with a particular key and the rest of you have busy lives as well. I, on the other hand, being a lifteime composer, have a mild case of OCD and could not let go of this inquiry into the frequency of usage of F sharp major. A cursory search of the Internet, and some help from friends, has produced what may be the first definitive list of works in this very rare key. Obviously, the list does not include works that attempt to do things in every key. G flat major is another story for another day.
>> 
>> Beethoven                   Sonata No. 24, op.78
>> 
>> Chopin                        Nocturne op. 15, No. 2; Barcarole, op. 60; Impromptu, op. 36
>> 
>> Dvorak                        Humoresque, B. 138 (op. 32)
>> 
>> Huré                           Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3
>> 
>> Korngold                     Symphony, op. 40
>> 
>> Liszt                            “Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude” from Harmonies poetique et religieuses, III
>> 
>> Mahler                        Symphony No. 10
>> 
>> Scarlatti                      Sonatas, K. 318 and 319
>> 
>> Schumann                  Romance, op. 28, No. 2
>> 
>> Scriabin                      Sonata No. 4, op. 30; Poeme, op. 32. No. 1
>> 
>> Soler                           Sonata, Rubio 90
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dr. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.
>> Music Department Chair
>> The City College of New York
>> Shepard Hall Room 72
>> New York NY 10031
>> (212) 650-7663
>> music at ccny.cuny.edu
>> 
>> America's Greatest Chair 
>> in the low-priced field
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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