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Thanks! Yeah, as you gathered, my idea with the first movement was to make the most I could out of the very simple idea of a scale in progressively diminished note values. You might be right that a different idea would have provided better contrast for the second subject, rather than just trying to do so by varying the texture.

----Not at all mediocre. But too short to answer your first three questions. It needs cries out for development. It's well scored and balanced. As a rendering it's fine, relying on you to be happy with the balance as is. The score looks fine as far as can be seen. It is reminiscent of the opening of Ravel's Daphnis Suite #2, even down to the divisi strings and has that mood of daybreak about it! Nice piece. But now...expand upon it!

Is the piece really in A flat minor? I felt it more like in D flat minor. There's struggle between D flat major and minor, which makes the key signature more unreadable with a key signature of 7 flats and B always in double flat. Will it be better written in c sharp minor? I love the style of the piece. It should be extended and developed more.

I really enjoyed the work ... my only comment is the pace of the work ... you only had 90 seconds to create an arch ... the initial opening - mid-section development and conclusion. So the work is great as an opening for an extended work ... the weakness is the ending which comes to abruptly and doesn't tie things up neatly in the 90 second time frame. However, to do so is a very difficult task indeed! Mark

Beethoven much? 😄 This was crafted really well, and you've certainly had quite the output as of late. I love the A theme, very dramatic and riveting. If would have given the B theme a bit less density, it was overall a great contrast, but personally I like having more difference in texture. It was just very thick throughout. That's not to say I didn't like it! Great adherence to the form, and you showed a wide range of creativity in developing your material. How far along are you with the other movements? I like to listen to these types of things in order, so I'm excited to hear your finished product. Thanks for sharing, and don't be afraid to toss your thoughts around to other works around here, I'm sure others would love your input!

Hey gmm, I'm glad you liked my submission. To answer your questions: Great suggestion! I think this slipped past me at some point as I got tired of reviewing these sections and just didn't notice it anymore. Thanks for pointing that out. Yes, I wanted real-life performers to have a break and mental preparation before they have spiccato eighth/sixteenth note runs. In the future, this part will definitely be up for review. I had to make a decision and stick with it. It is intentional. I wanted the race to sound as goofy as possible with no stagnant feeling, so continuing the whole tone progressions in the "middle-ground" instruments made sense to me. Yes, the Hare isn't joking about beating the Tortoise anymore! It's all serious in this part. I only used the trombone glissando to implicate the Hare's childish antics. Sudden is the intended effect I went for. The Hare wasn't expecting the Tortoise to be just steps from the finish line - I imagined the Hare coming to a complete stop with a look of awe across it's face. The Tortoise looking back at the Hare as it's foot crosses the finish line and the spectators going crazy. There's no musical reference or quote here as I did want it to be entirely different from the rest of the piece. Thank you very much for your kind words! I hope I answered your questions thoroughly.