#keyboard sonatas

[gasparodasalo]

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Harpsichord Sonata in D-Major, BWV 963, V. Fuga. "Thema all'imitatio Gallina Cuccu." Performed by Aapo Häkkinen, harpsichord.

[adrielrook]

🔥Infernal family greets the grave keeper 🪦

I began playing Idv during season 11 and it’s still honestly one of my favorite themes, there I fell in love with Antonio and he’s still my main hunter, even though I prefer to play as a survivor. Pretty, stunning, ate. All of them. (Bone flute gives me a lil anxiety due to the, the BONE FLUTES on his back, but it’s a cool concept nonetheless) and I also really like Andrew’s design, and I like to draw him together with Victor cause they’re cute to me. I really like to draw them :’)

[mod-a-day]

Rob Hubbard, Matthew Simmonds (4-mat) Entire Soundtrack (PC remake, various modes) Jet-Set Willy (1984, 1997) Software Projects

Note: This music's quality was reduced to 64 Kbps in order to fit onto the site's 10 MB file limit.

[clle0]

I was practicing keyboard and my cat jumped up on it and ruined it and I was like "NO TINA MY SONATA" and so she jumped up on my other keyboard (my computer keyboard) and I was like "NO TINA MY RECORDING OF MY SONATA"

there is no punchline.

[savventeen]

thinking about a jihoon whose biggest love languages are quality time and acts of service.

a jihoon that's never been one for physical comfort and never really knows what to say or when to say it and who's always had trouble knowing what kind of material things other people might like.

he's always felt like the kind of person who loves quietly, sometimes so quietly he isn't sure anyone can hear it.

but oh, oh, do you hear it.

you hear it when you find an extra bento box in the fridge that just has a sticky note with a lopsided smiley face drawn on it. you hear it when he silently joins you on the opposite side of the couch and watches the rest of the shark documentary with you at 2 in the morning. you hear it when you complain about being too tired to do the dishes that night and you wake up to an empty sink and wiped-down countertops and a well-swept floor. you hear it when you say you're going out for coffee and his quiet "i'll go with you" is drowned out by the noise of you tripping over the shoes you left in the doorway. you hear it when your hands can't stop shaking and he quietly places his cordless headphones over your ears before sitting down at the keyboard and playing song after song after song until your chest no longer feels like it's filled with empty, infinite, crushing void.

he thinks his love is quiet, but to you, to you, his love is so fucking loud it's like he's screaming it from the rooftops — an endless sonata that you'll always be able to hear.

[helyiios]

“Why the piano ?” he asks, turning to face his friend. “Why not something else ?”

“I don’t know,” Tom admits, looking at him, at his hands, following their movement. “It soothes me. It’s a kind instrument.”

“Kind ?”

“It’s warm,” he explains softly, and then moves to face the keyboard. “Do you not feel it ? The notes ?”

“I don’t…think I follow, Tom.”

“A Do,” Tom starts, pressing the white key with astute gentleness, almost worried he would break it, “is a gentleman in a top hat. He’s in a rush, he’s always moving. It’s black and white. A Si,” his ring finger moves, “is a young man in love, yellow, bright. A La is a lady in a pink dress, on her way to meet her friends.”

—

A Tomgreg fic centering around music :)

[cuddlytogas]

it's possible I made an extended playlist to give context to the classical (non-technically speaking) music in OFMD, with the pieces listed in historical/chronological order, and in the context of their full pieces (mostly - I'm not literally going to put entire operas on there, but symphonies and concertos have mostly been finished)

and it's possible that that playlist is ten hours long

and it's possible you can find it on spotify right now, and that below the cut is the full chronology

(edit: corrections welcome btw!!!! i am by no means a music historian, nor have any higher level music education, just a lifelong association and interest <3 if you know better than me, PLEASE let me know so it can be more accurate!)

N: most of the Vivaldi pieces don't really have any dates I could find, so they're just sort of scattered through the first few decades of the 18th century. and yes, technically the opening Corelli isn't in there, but I think putting another La Folia in is important for the context of s2!

1700 - Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op 5 No 12 "La Follia"

1703-6 - George Frederic Handel, Keyboard Suite No 4 in D Minor, HWV 437

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Cello Concerto in G Minor, RV 416

1711 - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No 11 in D Minor for Two Violins and Cello RV 565

1715 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in G Major TWV 41:G1

1718-20 - Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor Op 8

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in F Major, K 107

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Oboe Concerto in C, RV 452

1720s? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, RV 531

1727 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156

1725-35 - Georg Philipp Telemann, Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba in A Minor TWV 52:a1

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in G Minor, RV 576

1730 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major, BWV 1068

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Piccolo Concerto in A Minor, RV 445

? - Antonio Vivaldi, Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 63, 'La Follia'

1738 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Harpsichord Concerto No 4 in A Major, BWV 1055

1738-9 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056

Early/mid C18 - Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E Major, K 380

1741 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

1747 - Johann Sebastian Bach, Musical Offering, BWV 1079

1747-8 - George Frederic Handel, Concerto in F Major, No 16, HWV 305a

1773 - Mozart, Symphony No 25 in G Minor, K 183

1782 - Mozart, String Quartet No 14 in G Major, K 387

1795 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 2 in A Major, Op 2 No 2

1792 - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 3 in C Major, Op 2 No 3

1780 - Mozart, Symphony No 34 in C Major, K 338

1786 - Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (excerpts)

1810? - Beethoven, Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59: Für Elise

1811-12 - Beethoven, Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92

1826 - Franz Schubert, Ständchen (Serenade) "Horch, horch, die Lerch!" D 889

1827 - Franz Schubert, 4 Impromptus, Op 90, D 899

1833-4 - Felix Mendelssohn, Lieder Ohne Worte, Book 2, Op 30

1835 - Frédéric Chopin, 12 Études, Op 25 (excerpts)

1838 - Robert Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op 15 (excerpts)

1838 - Franz Liszt, arr., 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S 558, No 9

1842 - Frédéric Chopin, Waltz No 12 in F Minor, Op 70, No 2

1871 - August Wilhelmj, arr., Air on a G String

1874 - Giuseppi Verdi, Messa da Requiem (excerpts)

1878 - Antonín Dvořák, String Sextet in A Major Op 48

1888-91 - Claude Debussy, Two Arabesques, L 66

1890 - Claude Debussy, Rêverie, L 68

1888, 89, 90 - Erik Satie, Trois Gymnopédies, Gnossienne No 5, Trois Gnossiennes

[whencyclopedia]

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer of Classical and Romantic music; he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians to have ever lived. Most famous for his nine symphonies, piano concertos, piano sonatas, and string quartets, Beethoven was a great innovator and very probably the most influential composer in the history of music.

Early Life

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, on 16 December 1770. His grandfather was the director of music (Kapellmeister) to the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne at Bonn and his father, Johann van Beethoven (c. 1740-1792), worked at the same court as both an instrumentalist and tenor singer. Ludwig's mother was a head cook in the palace. Ludwig had only two other surviving siblings, his younger brothers Caspar Anton Carl (b. 1774) and Nikolaus Johann (b. 1776). Ludwig's father was keen for Ludwig to develop his obvious musical skills but went rather overboard so that his eldest son spent so much time practising on the piano he did not have a lot of time left for all the other things children need to learn to become rounded adults. Johann was violent and an alcoholic, so there was not much that could be done against his wishes.

Ludwig's musical education continued at the Cologne court from 1779 under the tutorship of the organist and composer Christian Neefe (1748-1798). Ludwig impressed, and he was made the assistant court organist in 1781, and the next year, he was appointed the court orchestra's harpsichordist. Already composing his own pieces, Ludwig's work was catalogued by his teacher and a set of keyboard variations was published in 1782. Three of Ludwig's piano sonatas were published in 1783. In a smart move, Ludwig dedicated his sonatas to the Elector, and although he died that year, the next Elector saw fit to keep him on in the court orchestra.

In 1787, Ludwig was all set to go to Vienna where it was arranged he would take lessons from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Although he made it to Vienna, when Ludwig's mother became ill, he was obliged to return home after only two weeks. Unfortunately, Ludwig did not manage to return to Bonn before his mother died, likely of tuberculosis. In 1789, Johann van Beethoven had descended deeper into alcoholism and grief so that Ludwig was obliged to take over responsibility for his family's affairs, which included controlling half of his father's salary. A second opportunity to learn from a master came in 1792 when Ludwig was given leave to study under Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), who was also in Vienna. The music of both Mozart and Haydn influenced Beethoven in the first stage of his career as a composer, as did the guidance of another teacher, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809), particularly regarding counterpoint.

Continue reading...

[gasparodasalo]

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Sonata for Horn or Cello and Piano in F-Major, Op. 17, I. Allegro moderato. Performed by Pieter Wispelwey, cello, and Lois Shapiro, fortepiano, on period instruments.

[mod-a-day]

Rob Hubbard, Matthew Simmonds (4-mat) Entire Soundtrack (PC remake, "Classic" Mode) Jet-Set Willy (1984, 1997) Software Projects

Note: This music's quality was reduced to 80 Kbps in order to fit into the site's 10 MB file limit for audio files.

[affo-gatto-gateau]

Just a random headcanon I've had for a while.

I reckon Scout would be an excellent pianist. I just think that it would be a hidden talent of his that he can just sit down at a keyboard and play a Rachmaninov sonata just by memory.

The two explanations I had for it:

Scout took and enjoyed piano lessons with this old Russian pianist. Unfortunately, as tensions were beginning to rise between the USA and the USSR, especially during the Red Scare, his piano teacher disappeared one day, leaving his music and his instrument to Scout.

When Spy was with Scout's mum, he left her some gifts from upper-class society, including a number of records with classical music. Scout listened to these as a boy, when he still looked up to his father and hadn't yet become jaded about his absence. Eventually he learned to play them entirely by ear.

Idk I'm really taken by the idea that Scout enjoys activities that are not considered 'traditionally masculine' but hides them from the rest of the team out of fear of being ridiculed. I also like the idea that the mercs are, for the most part, entirely comfortable about their masculinity and don't give a shit if Scout likes the arts and will support him in his endeavours. Except Spy who will insult him but secretly be proud of his boy.

[misc-obeyme]

here to say i also agree with the other anon and love how you write mammon !! and if you do decide to finish one of those drafts, I'll def be the first to reblog! or at least I'd want to be lmaoo. I just love him so much 😭

I think I'm at lesson 73 in the game now?? I NEED to beat it before Tuesday, but my family is traveling tomorrow to mexico, and it's gonna be a long drive </3 minimum 14 hours, sometimes a full day if my dad naps. I'll have limited signal, but Google docs works offline so maybe writing time?! if I'm not asleep akskd.

also !! i wanted to ask if you have any favorite composers or music pieces? for research purposes of course 📝 👀

And I can't remember if you said you had a keyboard before you got the new piano, but if you do, what are the biggest differences? I'd imagine it sounds smoother and ... Crispy? (Is it hard to move a piano?? Like do they unscrew the legs to be able to get it through doors??)

you don't have to answer because I can totally google these things, but I also like seeing you talk about your piano akwkdjf

Hope you're doing well !!

- ✨ anon

omg, well maybe I will finish one of those stories... I had a handful of ideas from my last Mammon phase... okay, let's be real. I gotta stop calling them phases, the reality is that I just think about him a lot asdl;kdsfjkf. When I tell you I'm so obsessed with the Mams/Barb ship right now... it plagues me so much. BUT no my other ideas were x reader lol. And I don't know why I never finished them, I guess I got distracted? I think it was my OC's fault. In fact, I'm pretty positive it was. But even if it wasn't, I'm still blaming Arrie for everything.

AH you're SO CLOSE! I know I got really obsessed with getting through season four right before NB came out 'cause I was like, there is no way I am not having the full story before this new stuff starts! Anyway, I hope you're able to get there, even with the drive and lack of signal! I hope you have fun on your trip!

Hang on, you LIKE seeing me talk about my piano!?? I was like, man I must be so annoying about it lol. I'm happy to answer any such questions, but uh... just be aware you may be opening some flood gates!

OKAY I really rambled about this piano stuff, so I think I better put it under a read more just to save people from scrolling forever...

Now when you say composers, do you mean classical composers or more modern ones? Because if we're talking classical, the answer is Bach. Like that is a pretty standard response, probably. And maybe I'm a lil basic for being such a huge Bach fan, but I don't care. Beethoven was also excellent of course, but that guy was sooooo overdramatic, all his songs are like bombastic while Bach was like, nah it's all about keeping exact tempo. Most of my other classical music stuff is like... I have specific pieces from different composers that I like, rather than being really into one composer specifically. Like Mozart is great and all, but Fantasia in D is by far the best of his stuff as far as I'm concerned. OH but I do like most of Chopin's stuff, too. But nothing can top Bach for me asldkfj.

If we're talking piano solos specifically, though, you're gonna get mostly Beethoven. Fur Elise is like the classic piece that all piano students are taught at some point. Moonlight Sonata is another incredibly popular one from him. You'll also get a lot of Pachelbel's Canon in D, which is really boring imo. It can be fun to play if it's an unusual arrangement, but generally speaking trying to play that song puts me to sleep lol.

Now if we're talking more modern composers, my favorites are Ludovico Einaudi, Toshifumi Hinata, Alexis Ffrench, and Yiruma. This is like more modern piano solo stuff, though. All these people are still alive lol. But I love their piano music, listening to it really kind of informs how I play when I'm doing improv style stuff.

Though I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention classic jazz piano stylings, too. I named my piano after one of my favorites, Hazel Scott. Jazz piano is insane and incredible and it always blows my mind. There are a TON of amazing jazz musicians. And you'll get a lot of good piano players that are not in the classical style too and who tend to span genres, such as Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure if that's the kind of rambling you were looking for on that first question lol! But feel free to ask me more specific things if you'd like!

As for the second part of your piano related questions, I did indeed have a keyboard before I got the piano. However, it's important to note that there are many different kinds of keyboards. The one I had was bought used and even before that, it would've been an extremely cheap one. I think you can buy a new one for like $400? Mine only had 76 keys (as opposed to the full 88 a piano has). And there are keyboards that come with even fewer keys (like 56 or something?). These are mostly good for classroom situations or where you only need to say, add a bit of piano into a larger song with other instruments. They do okay as a replacement for a real piano, but they're really not made for that.

However, there are keyboards in the thousands of dollars that I think are more commonly called "digital pianos" nowadays that are made to replace a real piano. I've never had or played one of these, so I'm not sure how obvious the difference of the sound would be. That being said, I've seen them used in concert situations many times. So I suspect the most expensive ones probably sound pretty close to a real piano. Or at the very least, they act more like a real piano does.

My cheapo keyboard still had keys that could sense how hard you were pressing them. And this let the keyboard know if you wanted your note loud or soft. But honestly it barely made a difference lol. I would think that kind of feature would be much better and higher quality on an expensive digital piano.

Similarly, my keyboard had an option of "grand piano" as the sound the keys produced. Digital pianos also usually have a grand piano setting, so they might sound more like a grand piano even if they're just a standard upright. The Yamaha Clavinova is a good example of a digital piano. It can range from like $3000 to $8000 depending on what version you get.

So I can definitely tell you the difference between the sound of a keyboard like my old one and the piano I have now, but there are a lot of versions of keyboards that might sound better than mine did.

The thing that really informs what a piano sounds like is the strings inside it. When you hit a key on the piano, a tiny little hammer (sometimes two) hits a string that's tuned to that note inside the piano. So the main thing a keyboard lacks is actual strings. It's just playing the sound of a string that was being hit somewhere else and then recorded. And a real piano is also heavily impacted by the environment it's in. If you've got a piano in a small space, with a lot of stuff around it, it might sound a little more muffled than if you had in a larger more empty space. That's more about the room's acoustics than the piano itself, though.

I think I know what you mean about "crispy" lol! Like the keyboard has a crisper sound. And yeah, it does, and also it doesn't ring quite as well. I got a sustain pedal for my keyboard, so it was able to hold notes a little longer, but it's nothing like the way it works for a piano. The sustain pedal on my piano is really amazing, it'll hold that note for what feels like a million years lol.

The piano is more resonant, there's more space for the sound to be creating within the instrument itself. I have an upright, but it's a tall upright. This is so that there's more room for the strings, kind of like a grand piano but instead of the strings being horizontal, they're vertical. Grand pianos always sound better. And you can open them to make them even louder, too. You can open an upright, but it doesn't have quite the same sound. It's very close, though, and honestly most people probably can't tell the difference lol.

And yes, it is hard to move a piano! They have to be transported by movers who are specifically piano movers. Because there's a lot that can go wrong if they're not properly handled or packaged. They're also heavy, so you need two strong peeps to do it!

How they do it depends on the type of piano. An upright will fit easily through most doors, so they don't have to take anything apart. A grand piano, on the other hand, is obviously incapable of going through a door at all, so it does need to be taken apart. I think they do take off the legs, so they can turn the top part sideways and move it through a door that way. So the strings aren't too disturbed, since that's the important part. Famous bands and musicians that use real pianos on stage have a whole crew for this specifically. If they want to use their own piano, they have to have a piano crew to move it from venue to venue for them. Most venues have a house piano, but a lot of musicians are picky about this kinda stuff. If they've got enough money to hire a crew to move their piano every time, they probably do. And they'll need to have a piano tuner in there, too, because inevitably moving a piano that often is going to require it to be tuned after nearly every move.

Pianos do better if they stay in one spot for the most part. They settle into their environment, not just the room they're in, but the strings and hammers sort of acclimate to the amount of humidity in the air and that kind of stuff, too. Generally, if you're just moving a piano to a new location that's nearby, you should be okay. But if you're moving it across states or into new climates or different altitudes, you'll want to get it tuned within two months of moving it. It just takes that long for it to adjust.

ANYWAY. I'm sure you now have WAY TOO MUCH INFO than you ever needed about this stuff asdflkjf. I don't get to talk about it all that often and honestly I didn't realize I had this much to say about it lol!!

I hope some of that helped and I apologize for getting so wordy about it!

I am doing well and I hope you are, too! 💕

[xbadgerbearx]

chapter 8: change

word count: 2k

Sonata in Darkness: [7] ... [9]

Selina went straight to bed after you made it home. It was over; Carmine Falcone was dead. You’d be lucky if you still had your job after a week. Sitting on the kitchen counter, you idly listened to the tv news broadcasting the events that just unfolded in front of you. Batman had given Carmine to the police, and if you looked in the background, you would be able to see yourself on the screen. 

Your apartment was quiet. It was a nice change of pace from the crazy that’s been going on. One of the cats started fighting with another over a toy before running away—that made you laugh. Fishing out your phone, you checked your notifications–one new message from Bruce Wayne. 

It’s okay!

Don’t worry about it, I’m sure there’s enough on your plate

Yeah, haha.

I was thinking maybe we could meet up sometime?

I really need a break, it would be nice to relax after everything that’s happened.

Coffee, lunch, or dinner? Your pick.

… 

Hello?

With everything going on, you didn’t have time to reply! You typed on the keyboard.

I’m sorry! Something came up…

Would dinner work? 

A ball rolled across the floor and hit the counter that you were seated on. One of the cats looked up at you and stretched his paws in your direction. Leaning down, you gave him a pat before he took off with the toy ball. Your phone buzzed again.

Dinner sounds perfect. I’ll let you know on the date soon.

Speaking of dates, am I finally going to learn the name of my mystery date?

Mmmm sorry, I guess you’ll have to find out at dinner ;)

Finally feeling like going to sleep yourself, you turned off your phone and went into your bedroom so that you could be done with this horrible day. 

You would not be going to bed that night.

Your room was still trashed from when they took Annika, but Selina had made slight improvements from when she cleaned the broken furniture. Other than that, everything was in place…except for a red envelope that presented itself on your pillowcase. It was addressed to no one, but there was a small heart drawn onto the middle of the paper. Opening it revealed a cute card with a cartoon surgeon performing surgery. It read, ‘What’s yours but cannot be held?’ Opening the card revealed the punchline, ‘My heart!,’ but there was extra writing inside. In sloppy handwriting was an address.                                                            

Paranoid, you started looking around your room for anything that could give you a hint as to how this got here. Nothing looked suspicious. Nothing was out of place. Checking the rest of the apartment yielded the same result. Looking back at the card, you stared at the little address for a very long time. You knew it was wrong and tried to talk yourself out of it, but you had already made up your mind.

Back in your catsuit and mask for the umpteenth time tonight, you crept out of the house and made your way to the address on your motorcycle with a navigation map telling you where to go. It ended up being an apartment complex right next to the IceBerg Lounge. Following the room number on the card led you to a police taped door—no entry. ‘Was this…where The Riddler was?’ Mind racing, you had to take a moment to rationalize this. Did he send you the card? Why would he want you here? Why would he want you? Making up your mind, you left the apartment complex and stood in front of the IceBerg Lounge to scope it out. Looking up to the building, you saw broken glass; it was the same window that Batman had propelled himself to. The area was dead empty–officers weren’t around–so you made your way around looking for a better way inside. Finding a fire escape led you to a conveniently open window that should be the apartment number listed on the card. Crawling inside, you stood in a dark, dingy bathroom. You could not have prepared yourself for what was on the other side of the bathroom door. Quietly opening the door, you saw the entire room filled to the brim with—I don’t know—nonsense?

Papers cluttered every surface, there were weird torture contraptions strewn about, photos were tacked onto the wall, and there was shit (literally mouse shit) all over the place. Not daring to touch anything there, you went into the next room, which happened to be his bed room…and what a psycho! The room was surprisingly clean, although the bed was messy, but his closet was a nightmare. Hidden behind some jackets was a shrine…with your photos. Some were printed from your various social medias, but most were taken from Polaroids of his point of view. There were pictures of you in your work outfit in the club, some were taken while you were out and about doing errands, but there was one of you asleep in your own bed. There were two more photos to look at. One was a selfie of the Riddler with Phil Colson, who had a bomb strapped around his neck, terrified. The last photo pinned up was a standalone selfie of the Riddler, unmasked, with the caption ‘Surprise! <3.’ It was the man that you helped that night in the club while you were undercover for Batman. The same guy that had helped you get away from the D.A. when he was making you uncomfortable. You couldn’t believe this…

“Hey! What’re you doin’ in here!?” 

A man’s voice yelled from the other room. Jumping out of your skin, you looked around the room. The bedroom was empty. You figured that the man hadn’t spotted you; crouching low to the ground, you listened. Lights from a flashlight flickered from behind the cracked bedroom door.

“Hey man, I don’t think you should be touching that,” the same man said. Quiet rustling followed. “Boy, this guys a real nut job, huh? Killing Mitchell with a friggin’ carpet tool…not to mention his creepy shrine.” There was a pause and the light moved away, then, “My uncle’s a—He’s an installer. You know, it’s a…oh, you know. It’s a…a tucker.” The light shifted again, followed by frantic movement of furniture. Daring to take a peak, you saw Batman crouched on the floor; he was peeling back the carpet. The cop beside him tried to stop him, weakly, but ultimately let him finish. The lights focused on something on the ground, leaving the rest of the room dark. Gaining confidence, you stood up and slowly crept out of the room.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

The two men whipped around instantly, startled. The cop quickly drew his weapons, but Batman covered the barrel and tipped it down. The caped crusader let out a sigh.

“What are you doing here?” Batman asked.

“Wait—you know her?” The cop cut in. Both of you ignored him.

“Someone snuck in my room and left me a little present,” you said, handing over the envelope. Batman opened it and looked at its contents; his face darkened. “Have you checked his bedroom?” Batman shook his head but the officer nodded.

“Yeah, real weirdo,” the cop said. “Has pictures of this girl everywhere. Believe me when I say you do not wanna look under his bed.” You cocked a brow but dropped it. Batman quickly brushed past you to look inside the bedroom; you followed. You pointed out the closet and Batman broke the clothing rack with how roughly he moved the jackets. The shrine was on full display. Batman took his time analyzing each photograph—he looked angry.

“Man, I feel bad for whoever that girl is,” the cop whistled. You pulled your mask off and blankly stared at him. The officer looked as if he saw a ghost. “My bad, ma’am,” he apologized. You left the room and the two men followed.

In the main area, the carpet was pulled up to reveal a crude drawing of the city with the words ‘A REAL CHANGE’ scrawled out. You pointed out the small red heart that The Riddler had drawn—that was yours and Selena’s apartment. Batman turned to the computer and started typing in a box that asked for a password.

>A REAL CHANGE

… 

>>ACCESS DENIED.

Batman furrowed his brow and started typing more, but each entry yielded the same result. Placing a hand on his shoulder, you gently asked, “Can I try?” Batman took a step back, giving you space to type. You typed in your name that you gave customers at the lounge and…

>>ACCESS GRANTED.

A video immediately started playing. The Riddler was talking to some viewers; they left comments on the side. “Hey guys. Uh, thanks for all the comments and, uh, a special thanks to everyone for the tips on detonators,” he started, voice normal. “And a special hello to this…girl. You know who you are.” Batman put a hand on your shoulder protectively as you stared, eyes wide. “I just wanted to say…this will be my last post for a little while, and, uh…” He started getting a little choked up. “What this community has meant to me…these weeks, these months…let’s just say that none of us is alone anymore. Okay?”

“Jesus,” the cop commented.

“Tomorrow's Election Day,” he laughed. “…and Bella Reál will win. She promised real change. But we know the truth, don’t we?” Riddler grabbed his camera and got close to it. “You’ve seen Gotham’s true face now. Together, we’ve unmasked it. Its corruption, its perversion, masquerading under the guise of renewal.” Batman stiffened. “But unmasking is not enough… the Day of Judgement is finally upon us.” The camera flipped to show the floor that was just behind you; he was showing his viewers the map. “And now it is time… for retribution.” Batman and the cop started examining the floor; you took a peek but continued to watch the video instead. “I’ve parked seven vans all along the city sea wall…and on the big night, they will go boom.”

As The Riddler uttered the last word, a giant explosion went off nearby. Rushing to the window, clouds of fire and smoke erupted into the air. More soon followed. 

“When the vans blow,” he continued. “…the flooding will happen so fast, evacuation will not be an option. Those who are not washed away will race through the streets in terror.”

“Call Gordon,” Batman quietly ordered. The officer fumbled for his phone.

“As breaking news hits higher ground at Gotham Square Garden, celebrations will turn to panic as the venue becomes the city’s shelter of last resort. And that’s,” you turned back to the monitor to see that he switched it back to his face. “…where all of you come in.” 

The comments were filled with all sorts of horrible questions and suggestions; ‘what gauge? what caliber?’ ‘Rifles are good,’ and ‘don’t forget your Cling Wrap!’ were some of the ones you glossed over. 

“My dear—” he said quietly into the mic. “—I know that you’re watching.” It felt like he was looking through the screen and at you. “And I need you to do something very special for me, okay? Stay at the address I gave to you. I made sure that area would be safe just for you. Please, stay.” He had gotten a tad emotional but cleared his throat before continuing. “Now, when the time arrives, I will already be unmasked. The pigs will have me in their custody, but that’s okay. Because then it will be your turn. You’ll be there, waiting. It’s time for the lies to finally end—false promises of renewal? Change? We’ll give them reaaal, real change now.” His voice was booming into the mic, “We’ve spent our lives in this wretched place suffering! Wondering ‘Why us?’ Now they will spend their last moment wondering ‘Whyyy them?’” 

Batman whispered, “Follow me,” as he slid his hand from your shoulder to your hand, pulling you along. You slipped on your mask.

“I can’t get through! The lines are down—“ the office said, but it was only him in the room.

===============================================

[pargolettasworld]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDudgxMeRhE

If you are familiar with the composer Viktor Ullmann, you probably know of his opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, a satirical work that he completed in the Terezin transit camp in 1944, but which was suppressed because the satire was a tad bit too obvious, and had its premiere in 1975, thirty-one years after Ullmann was murdered in Auschwitz.  If you’re a fan of the New Budapest Orpheum Society, you might be familiar with a few more of his works -- he’s a favorite of theirs.

This is another one of his late works, the last movement of his last piano sonata.  It’s another piece that he composed in Terezin, and the title page is dated 22 August 1944.  He was murdered almost exactly two months later, on 18 October.  The sonata is dedicated to his children.  Two of them survived the Holocaust on one of the last Kindertransports to the UK.  One died in Terezin of tuberculosis.  One more was murdered at Auschwitz with his mother a few days after his father’s murder

I always wonder, when I read a chronology like that . . . did Ullmann know, or suspect, that this would be one of his final works?  He was one of the primary organizers of musical life in that camp, writing at one point, "By no means did we sit weeping on the banks of the waters of Babylon. Our endeavor with respect to arts was commensurate with our will to live.“  But he was certainly under no illusion about what was meant to happen to the residents of Terezin. 

This is a really magnificent piece of music that merits listening a couple of times through.  There’s a luminous quality to the early harmony that is one of my favorite things about early twentieth-century music, but there’s also a combination of gravity and sparkling brilliance that comes from a thorough grounding in the tradition of Western keyboard music.  Whether or not Ullmann meant this as a sendoff to the world, it’s a good one.  Especially because it leaves you with a sense of the brilliant artist he was, and missing the music he could have created if he had lived.