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IT DROPPED !?!?!?!

To be honest, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, I have listened to the second movement of the piano sonata like a week or so ago, but only once and it requires more listens and attention for me to say something remotely meaningful about it. I found it wonderful but I'd like to try and say something more articulate and I can't yet 🙂 Can't wait for the sextet to be published and saved on my phone! These days the weather is nice and I walk to work and I'm looking forward to listening to the whole thing (might need to leave home early and take some detours to make it fit, but it'll be so worth it!).

This Intermezzo is intended to be the first of four little piano pieces I intend to finish. I write this as relaxation piece after finishing the very heavy String Sextet which would be published in the near future. For me this piece contains some beauty and I hope to maintain simplicity in all four pieces. Here is the score and YouTube video: (Final) Intermezzo in A.pdf The recording is played by myself and recorded in a rush since it’s completely unplanned to record this one this quick haha. Feel free to comment on this one! Hope you enjoy! Henry

Schumann and Brahms were mentioned, but to me this piece brings to mind Schubert. The melody of the theme is simple and elegant and sings like springtime in your ears, the harmony joins so nicely that - I hear this in Schubert a lot - it's not immediately clear if the melody guides the vertical writing or vice versa. That said, I'm not a fan of the sudden chords in b. 24 and 63-4 (esp 63-4). And maybe at b. 46-7 I would have liked to hear the cute descending inciso with the repeated note from b 42-3 and 44-5, but what do I know! But I love love love the c# minor section especially 50-57 with the sixths in b. 54 just very beautiful. Thank you Henry!

Haha yeah the little Intermezzo was posted here and YT: The bigger Sonata movement I would love you to have a listen on haha! Also I would post the finished Sextet 2nf mov tomorrow, stat tuned! (A great self advertising reply muahaha!) Henry

OK, I did that and it sounds better already 🙂 Thanks! We're all waiting for the big drop!! Meanwhile... is the "little" piano piece the Intermezzo I just listed to on youtube? (Can't find it here, I need to sharpen my forum tech competencies!) I think Schubert would be proud of you! I can see him smiling! I love the elegant and expressive simplicity of the melody, and how it seamlessly supports rather distant harmonic gyrations. And thanks for these kind words too! I had no idea that a polyrhythm (you mean the triplets at the violin with the 16th arpeggios at the piano?) A friend of mine is insisting to try and find students to play this. I would love that but I think it'd require lots of fine tuning of individual parts for playability? I never write at the piano and every time I try to play the piano part I'm horrified by how unnatural it is to my hands! Let alone strings, which I don't even play. GPT says a cellist can play pizz. 8th notes comfortably at 120-150 bpm. So that passage at b. 75 should be playable, but I guess it also depends on *which* notes are being played lol. I decided to go in d minor, with is a bummer because previous to this trio I already wrote a d minor quartet. What can you do! Meanwhile, here's the third movement, revised in light of @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu suggestions, among others. I don't think the main concerns were fully addressed but I hope it sounds better now...

Hi Pabio @Fugax Contrapunctus, Sorry for your loss Pabio, I know this feeling very well. A friend of mine passed away last year after bravely fighting a terminal cancer for more than 2 years. I just visited him the day he passed away and ignorantly and naively thought he would recover soon, and was very shocked to receive the news the next morning. I’m so sad and regretted that even I finish the piece I dedicate to him, it couldn’t be finished when he’s still in this world, due to my own lack of creative power suffering from mistreatment in my workplace. On the music, your fugal and counterpoint writing skill is no doubt first class, there’s no denying of that. For me this music is expressive enough, maybe just like Vince it’s because it’s not played by a real harpsichordist/pianist. For my own fugal writing, I just treat each voice a voice to cry/cheer for themselves and when combined together the sadness/cheerfulness is enhanced, maybe this helps the music getting more emotional? I don’t know, since I just make trial and error in the fugal writing and don’t calculate at all 🤪. Thx for sharing! Henry

Wow I like this one very much too! I love the energy in both sections. The polyrhythm would be really challenging for the players but very effective and can be funny to play! I love your modulations like in b.43 and 55, really making the music go forward as required in this movement to contrast with the 1st movement. I’m not sure if the cello can play pizz. this fast in b.75, maybe @PCC can answer haha, but the interaction between violin and cello here is very good especially the high ranged cello. I also love your usage of pizz. throughout the movement. I really love the ending, each instrument is talking very well! The opening piano arpeggios can be a bit difficult to play with a wide range to leap and in a fast tempo, but it’s doable. Thx for your update! Henry

I really find nothing wrong in this passage! Maybe it!s because of the tuplets in the cello? Maybe I’ll just remove the chromatic notes in the cello to have it be homorhythmic with the violin. Haha yeah that’s a good one, or just include one section in the 4th movement to be in C minor, possibly quoting themes from 1st movement so that audience know the connection between the two movements and know there is a progressive tonality with reason haha. The polishing was finished so that I have energy to review here haha, I’m focusing on smaller pieces like little piano pieces (one posted here and YT) and a Violin Sonata commissioned by @expert21, since I’m suffering a relapse and post partum depression after finishing a huge project like the Sextet and need smaller works for relaxation nanda regaining creative energy. Henry