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Variation II.mp3 Variations on a Theme By J. Brahms.pdf This is my entry to the Fall 2016 Competition! The theme in question is from the famous finale of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Please see the attached notes for more information about the piece. For your reference, here is a snippet of the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhHb-62BfpI Thanks for listening, and feel free to share any feedback!

@luderart, thanks for the quick entry!! The high C is fine, but don't expect it to be played that soft, hehehe. About my master's degree, it's in Musicology. "Here" means Brazil, northeastern region, Bahia State, Salvador City (not to be confused with El Salvador or anything like that, please). It'll take about two years (one and a half, as the second period has just begun this week). o/

This is really nice and it flows pretty well. Not much I can say that hasn't been said already. I do wish there was a little bit more interaction between the piano and the viola, besides just trading off and the piano acting as accompaniment. Also, as far as double stops go, I would say that overutilizing them is a much more dangerous habit to get into than underutilizing. Often, I think it's best to explore what all you can do with the single voice, only using the double stops sparingly for emphasis. The shining example I always think of is the Prelude from Bach's Partita No. 3, which is brilliantly intense and virtuosic, and doesn't use any double stops until the very end. Andy makes those double stops all the more effective.

An attaca is just a term for when the end of a musical movement leads straight into the beginning of the next. I would agree about all of the minor chords right after each other. It helps to mix it up a little, and I think it lets the music flow a little bit better. And it wouldn't take away from your intended effect either, in fact it would likely be more effective. A major chord can be just as sinister as a minor one, if you know how to use it. How much do you know about chord progressions and functional harmony type stuff? I think it might help you to read up about it if you can. Learning how chords relate to each other and how composers tend to use them helps out tremendously and it becomes pretty natural to use what you've learned after a while. Plus, you can find examples of cool chord progressions all over whatever kind of music you feel like listening to.