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I finished the other two movements hooray!! Here's the YouTube upload. Please let me know what you think so I might apply the advice for future piano works 🙂 As for the piece itself, it's so personal to me I'm not willing to change anything, though I recognise it's not flawless. I think it is my very best piano piece and I'm extremely proud of it despite its issues. I'll do a rundown of the piece real quick so ya'll know what to expect. Movement 1. Sonata form, both themes are derived from the same rhythmic idea. A theme for desolation and a theme for consolation, which alternate in rotations becoming less and less certain until neither resolve. closes on a 6 4 chord. attaca into... Movement 2. Ternary form. A is a waltz with violent interruptions. B is more restless and dramatic. The return to A is based on first movement closing 6 4. Ending of A is infected with B motifs. Closes with a satisfying cadence at last. Movement 3. Ternary form. This movement is meant to be "looking back" at the events of the previous movements. B section is turbulent again. A section returns. The movement closes with a chorale "prayer." attaca into... Movement 4. Sonata form. Opens with a return to the consolation motifs from movement 1. First theme is dramatic and modulates constantly. Second theme is a combination of consolation and prayer. The climax of the development (and I think the climax of the whole piece really) with the minor version of the consolation theme from the first movement is in E minor which is a tritone away from tonic key. Recap has no proper second theme, only fragments. It ends resolved on a single note all by itself. All alone. Thank you for listening and for any feedback :3

Yo Arjuna! Yup I definitely learn from that 2nd movement of that random music for the pentatonicism displayed here! The Joke would be just a really straight forward daddy joke I guess lol! Henry

Yo Peter! I don’t force myself to imitate Debussy though, his influence however must show in this. I am stupid in those errors, b.49 it should be Eb in LH, b.54 an Eb. These errors happen because I didn’t update my score after recording and nuancing the details lol. An additional error would be in b.45 when I erroneously played a C instead of F for right hand. It happens because it’s a manual playing error lol. Yeah it’s a norm for me to combine ideas together simultaneously haha, and those imitations are deliberate! I love the canon too, it’s the thing I can’t do 10 years ago! Henry

Hi Peter! I play it, but my piano is really bad with dynamic control and at such a quiet dynamic it's impossible to voice it properly with consistency :< So 8va means "Ottava" and can mean above or below depending on placement. It does not mean octave above. 8vb means "Ottava bassa" and is not a standard notation, though it's increasingly common in the United States. I think that's kind of unfortunate, because it's not supposed to be happy-go-lucky. I certainly don't hear it as such. I hear it as hopeful. I can see why it feels happy-go-lucky to you though: back and forth V-I, bouncy rhythm. Try not to think of it as bouncy though, more like the funeral march esque rhythm of the first theme. Maybe it'll make more sense that way. I actually like that idea. Thanks ❤️ Maybe. I thought the same but about the 3rd movement, which is kind of similar me too! Thanks for the review!!

Hi @ComposaBoi! I know I've heard the 1st movement before but am not sure if I reviewed it. I don't hear the following chord in your performance: I just hear a Db both in the left and right hands. Also, didn't you mean to mark this as 8vb? 8vb means an octave lower while 8va means an octave higher: That aside, I find the main theme to be so happy-go-lucky in comparison to the bleak introduction! LoL I think the way you present the main theme in measure 78 is more appropriate to be the main theme proper, being darker and more suited to follow the bleak introduction. I know you said you won't be changing it but I'm going to give you my impressions nonetheless. The version of the main theme at 151 is also nice - not overly happy-go-lucky but rather, bittersweet. The version of the main theme at 220 where it is used as a modulating sequence is really good! I much prefer this treatment of the happy-go-lucky material as it sounds more developmental and suited for modulation. When you return to the material of the bleak introduction the 2nd time it sounds really empty and like the momentum of the piece just stops and falls dead (especially with the left hand staccato notes). The 2nd movement waltz sounds like it really flourishes perfectly out of the 1st movement! It really creates a lucid listening experience. The only thing that brings me out of it is the allegro furioso. I think it sounds way too fast and intense for the bittersweet mood you set with the beginning of the waltz. I like how you reference back to your 1st movement material with the molto meno mosso part. With how fast and furious this part gets it's amazing that you managed to perform it! I think bringing back the dreamy main waltz theme towards the end really releases some of the furious tension you build up with the fast tempo sections. Great job with these two movements! I'm looking forward to reviewing the last two at another time. Thanks for sharing!

Hello @Alant! To me the combination of instruments, especially the trombone and pitched percussion with the electric bass is especially reminiscent of the SimCity3000 soundtrack. It's very nostalgic to me! Great job and I was sorry to hear it end. I think the track could be continued for much longer just adding more and more instrumental forces like @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu mentioned! Thanks for sharing.

So this is something i have worked on for four years now. I was inspired to write it, as ballets (Rite of Spring, Petrushka, Firebird, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake) are some of my favorite pieces of music. I wanted to see if I could carry a narrative through the music. It's long, it's a full 2 hour ballet. I fully understand most people will not listen to it, but if you have sometime. I wanted to have the score ready with it, but I had an unfortunate incident with a failed hard drive, that claimed three of the scenes. I hadn't realized they were not backed up, so I'm in the process of reconstructing them from the audio. I've included a program for you to follow along with. Roles: Tove - Youngest child of a peasant family Bjørn - A prince, cursed to be a bear during the day Åge - Father of a peasant family Liv - Mother of a peasant family Revna - A witch who cursed Bjørn Estrid - A young maiden and one of three sisters Frida - A mother and one of three sisters Gudrun - An old crone and one of three sisters East Wind, West Wind, South Wind, North Wind Tove’s brothers and sisters Revna’s servants ACT 1 Scene 1: During a great famine, a peasant (Åge) is searching through the woods, looking for food. Suddenly, a monstrous white bear (Bjørn) appears before him. The bear offers to give him all the wealth and food he could ever need, in return for his only daughter. Although troubled at the thought of what the bear will do to her, he accepts, knowing that his wife and other children will starve if not. Scene 2: Upon returning home, the peasant tells his family of the bear's offer of wealth and food. His wife (Liv) and sons are shocked that he has traded away his only daughter. His daughter (Tove) is horrified that her father has given her away to this magical bear but accepts her fate, knowing that it will save her family from starvation. Bjørn comes to collect his payment and bestow upon the family what he has promised. Before their eyes, their shack is transformed into a mansion, filled with gold and endless food. Tove reluctantly follows Bjørn into the forest. Scene 3: Bjørn and Tove travel through the woods, with few words spoken. A pack of wolves attacks, but Bjørn drives them off. As they reach the edge of the woods, Tove suddenly sees a magnificent castle. Bjørn informs her that this will be her new home. He tells her that the only rule she must follow is to never light a candle during the night. Scene 4: As night falls, Tove prepares for bed and puts out all the candles in her room. She climbs into bed in the darkened room and begins to drift to sleep. She is startled by someone entering the room. She calls out, but no one responds. She goes to light a candle but then hears the voice of Bjørn, reminding her that she must never light a candle during the night. After a while, she drifts to sleep. ACT 2 Scene 5: Almost a year has passed, and Tove has discovered that Bjørn isn’t the monster she first thought him to be. She finds herself beginning to feel a deep affection for him, just as she notices that he also is falling in love with her. Scene 6: One day, Tove asks Bjørn if she may visit her family, as she is missing them. He grants her wish but makes her promise that she will not speak to anyone about her life at the castle. Tove returns to her family, and they throw a celebration in honor of her visit. During the celebration, her mother continually tries to ask her about what goes on at the castle, but she manages to avoid the questions. After the party has finished, Liv corners her and demands answers to all of her questions. Tove reluctantly tells her mother about the mysterious man who enters her room each night. Her mother tells her that after the man has fallen asleep, she should light a candle so she can see who it is. Tove tells her mother that she is forbidden to do that, but her mother insists that no one will ever know. Scene 7: Back at the castle, the pattern of events continues as before. During the night, the mystery man enters her room and falls asleep in the chair. After a few nights, she decides to do as her mother has said. She waits a long time after he has fallen asleep and then lights a candle. She leans over his body to see the face of a beautiful young prince. She is so captivated by his face that she doesn’t realize that melted wax starts to drip from the candle. It lands on the sleeping man, the heat waking him from his slumber. He sees her looking at him with the candle and jumps from the bed. He explains that he is Bjørn, and a witch (Revna) had transformed him into a bear because he refused to marry her. Under the curse, he must spend each day as a bear, only becoming a human at night. The only way to break the curse was for a woman to fall in love with him without ever looking at his true face. Only by earning her trust could the curse be broken. After apologizing for having failed her and himself, he must now marry Revna and be imprisoned in the house that is east of the sun and west of the moon for the rest of his life. The room suddenly goes dark, and as light reappears, Tove finds herself in the forest, alone. ACT 3 Scene 8: Tove is wandering the woods, grieving over losing Bjørn. During the many months with him, she had come to care for him and realizes what she has now lost. While walking through the woods, she comes upon a young girl (Estrid), whose leg is trapped under a fallen tree limb. She helps free her, and the two begin to talk. Tove asks her if she knows the way to the House east of the sun and west of the moon. Unfortunately, Estrid has no idea, but she magically conjures a horse that will carry Tove to her sister (Frida), who may know the way. She also gives Tove a golden apple as thanks for having freed her from the tree limb. Scene 9: The magical horse carries Tove to a lake, where she hears cries for assistance. She sees a mother, holding her baby, trapped upon a rock in the lake. The woman tells her she is unable to swim and fears her child will drown. Tove crosses the river to the rock and helps the mother and child safely back to the shore. She discovers that this woman is none other than Estrid’s sister Frida. Tove asks if she knows the way to the House east of the sun and west of the moon, but just like her sister, Frida has no idea. However, she conjures a magical boat that will carry Tove to the other side of the lake and to the house of her other sister (Gudrun). She tells Tove that if anyone knows, it will be Gudrun, as she is the eldest and wisest of the three. She gives Tove a golden comb as thanks for saving her and the child. Scene 10: The magical boat carries Tove far across the lake. In the distance, she sees a small hut that is in flames. As the boat comes to the shore, she hears the screams of an old woman from inside the burning house. She runs inside and drags the old woman out just as the hut is completely consumed by fire. She discovers that this old crone is none other than Gudrun, the third sister. Tove pleads with her to tell her the way to the House east of the sun and west of the moon. Gudrun tells her she must travel to the place where the winds of the east, west, north, and south meet together and ask for their assistance; only they can help her find the way. She then conjures a great bird to carry Tove to the highest mountain peak and gives her a golden needle and thread in gratitude for saving her from the fire. Scene 11: As Tove approaches the summit of the highest mountain, she sees four old giants arguing with one another. The bird lands, and she approaches them, asking if they know where the four winds could be found. One of the giants tells her that she is in their presence already, as the other three try to interject. She realizes that it is their constant arguing and screaming which produces the winds. She asks them if they can help her reach the House east of the sun and west of the moon. The East, West, and South winds tell her they know not the way to find it. The North wind proudly tells her that he once carried a sparrow to this far-off land. She asks if he can take her there as well, and with a gentle breath, he launches her into the sky. ACT 4 Scene 12: Tove awakes in a field, thinking she has dreamed everything that has happened, but then sees a massive house, with the sun to its left and the moon to its right. As she approaches the house, she sees a woman (Revna) collecting mushrooms. She asks if there is a young prince at this house. Revna asks why she wants to know. Tove offers her a golden apple if she may spend the night with him. Revna agrees to this deal but then gives Bjørn a sleeping potion so that he won’t see this beautiful girl. Scene 13: Tove tries again the next night, after offering the golden comb as payment, but again Bjørn is drugged. As Tove cries over his body, telling him how she loves him and regrets not trusting him, the servants overhear Tove’s cries each night. Scene 14: They decide to tell Tove about the sleeping potion. After receiving a payment of a golden needle and thread, Revna once again conspires to drug Bjørn into sleep. However, Tove has arranged for the servants to switch the drink. Bjørn goes to sleep, while Revna believes she has drugged him. Scene 15: As Tove enters the room, she once again declares her love for Bjørn and tells him to wake from his slumber. Bjørn opens his eyes and, upon seeing Tove, tells her that they will be together forever. Just as they go to kiss, Revna rushes in to stop them, but they kiss, and Revna bursts into flames as the curse is broken. They free all of the servants and together leave the house east of the sun, west of the moon, never to return.