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Hello there! During this COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to revise and continue one of my old compositions, a cello sonata, which I started around 2018 but have not managed to finish it. I decided to dig it out and start working on it again, and here it is. The sonata is in four movements, depicting the various musical periods of Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century. Movements: I. Allemande/Fugue: This movement was meant to be a separate project on a baroque suite for cello and piano, but I decided to make it part of this sonata.The movement initially only had the Allemande part, then I decided to add in the fugue in the middle to make the movement more interesting with a contrasting middle section. II. Allegro con brio: This sonata was in fact one of my early attempts in creating a piece in sonata form. I was quite inspired by Beethoven's sonatas at the time (both cello and piano), especially in the development section. To be honest, this movement is not really classical; it has some romantic references, especially the use of hemiola in the second subject inspired by a Brahms piece. I quite like how I have revised this piece, though I feel further improvements could be made. III. Variations on a nocturne: The tune is very familiar, and I think you will guess it soon enough. The first two variations are inspired by Czerny etudes (again, another Romantic composer), while the third is a dance modeled on some sight-reading piece. The fourth is inspired by a Brahms cello sonata movement, then the fifth kind of follows the style of a movement from Tchaikovsky's cello concerto. IV. Allegro marcato: The start is inspired by a Prokofiev sonata movement, in addition to one of Charles Ives' Violin Sonata which has an ostinato at the start. The piece functions as a recapitalization of the sonata, recalling motifs and ideas from the previous three movements. The start uses the fugue subject, for example. I hope you will all enjoy this piece. This piece is dedicated to a cello classmate in my music class. I have yet to show her this piece though haha. Any suggestions and feedback are welcome.

Hi everyone! This is the 3rd movement of my string quartet! In contrast to the meandering 2nd movement which does not have any structure, this movement is mostly following the Rondo form, and I used motifs extensively throughout the piece. This was also the first time where I tried using parallel motion for the theme and climax of the movement to contrast the episodes which are more polyphonic and uses more call-and-response. I also included a quasi cadenza for the cello before the reprisal back to the opening of the piece, with a fiery cadenza to end the piece! Let me know what you guys think and feel free to feedback in the comments! Thank you for taking the time to listen!

The Mosaic Form is what supports the piece.

Wow this is great! I assume that since Wiktor Piotrowski is Polish that the main theme is influenced by the folk music of the Gorale (mountain folk) of the Tatra mountains (I myself am Polish and have danced said dance in a folk dance ensemble). I personally love theme and variations pieces and I enjoyed this one. It had many different moods created by the various tempos and was often quite virtuosic. My only complaint is that your variations stayed melodically fixed. The 2nd variation ventures into the parallel minor tonality. The 3rd variation is fast with a flurry of chromatic notes. I like what you do with the 4th variation not only because it varies the melody more than any other of your variations but also because you manage to alternate once again its tonality to the parallel minor creating a very bittersweet mood. It also ventures into more original territory after the repeat. The 5th and final variation is a little short for me. I understand that it's meant to be a finale/coda to the whole piece and I guess it is difficult to write theme and variations pieces in which the theme is more completely fleshed out but I feel you could have done more that's all. What you have is great though it's just that there are so many more ways to vary a theme and you stuck to the melody almost through the whole thing (although that might have been your intention). Overall it's enjoyable however. Thanks for the music!

Wow, I have no words for that. Absolutely brilliant. All motifs are very nice and original and also very well combined with each other. I also love the different moods and characters you combine and how you transition from one to the other, from the most tender and lyrical solo passages to the most vivid and rythmic with powerfull brass and percussion. It reminds me somehow to an suspense movie from the late 60's or 70's and I could imagine the different scenes in front of me. When I see a 20min long piece I don't hear it all through most of the times, at least at ones, but from the first second I was absolutely captivated and couldn't stop hearing till the end 🙂. Definitely one of the best pieces I've ever heard in that forum. Congratulations!!! Thanks for posting and please keep it up!!!

Lovely use of tensions and apoggiaturas.

The ending of the first one was amazing!

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