Jaden Davidson

A very well written orchestral piece, it's quite impressive how it all comes from one theme, yet it doesn't at all feel repetitive or monotonous. If my use of the harp was "horribly excessive", this goes to the opposite extreme - the harp pretty much doesn't exist at all. There are so few notes for the harp here that it begs the question: why not just drop the harp entirely and put those notes as pizzicato in the strings instead or something like that? Funnily enough, this seems to be in a way the exact opposite of my orchestral work. This appears more minimalist and even somewhat impressionist, while mine is complex and abstract with 12 distinct themes. Was this intentional or just a normal consequence of your usual style?

Here's the finished 3rd movement of the orchestral piece I started long ago. It was actually completed 3 months ago, mainly real life stuff got in the way. I do agree that it's supposed to be more of a "concerto" than "symphony" (based on comments I received on the 2nd movement), especially with the solo cadenza later on. Overall I'd consider this my favorite movement of the 3. When there are 12 themes and 16 separate staves, does near-omnipresence of 1 theme still seem monotonous? F major, 12/16, 129 measures, 12:57

Not sure what I was thinking with this, it almost seems more 18th century style which I normally don't like as much for solo piano. At the same time I find writing for solo piano considerably "easier" than for a full ensemble, since I wrote this in 2 days. Some inspiration for this piece also came from "hometown" themes in RPGs and such. Does this seem too fixated on one theme or not harmonically adventurous? Any chords that aren't possible synchronously should be arpeggiated.

I had originally started this back in the summer of 2022, and I did receive feedback on the 1st movement earlier. Here is the complete 2nd movement and what I have so far of the 3rd. The intention is for the music to be in a late 19th century style, with inspirations by Brahms and Ashton. Full dynamics are included, although sometimes I still believe they shouldn't be strictly followed, and that the performers should have significant choices with regards to dynamics overall. After what happened with the 1st movement I wonder if the 2nd one turned out too simplistic, but maybe the 3rd so far finds the right balance. 2nd movement: 17:03, 5/4 in A Phrygian 3rd movement: 12/16 in F major

This definitely represents the late 18th century style well, with the stricter counterpoint and simpler harmony typical of that time period. 2:04 is quite a nice harmonic twist, one of my favorite moments overall in this piece.

2nd movement complete, with full dynamics. 96 measures, 17 minutes, 12 themes as well as a few taken from the 1st movement. Key signature is A Phrygian, mainly in 5/4. I wonder if this movement is too simplistic, to be honest.

Symphony_in_A_Major_mvmt2_1-[AudioTrimmer.com].mp3 What I have so far on the 2nd movement: full dynamics included. This movement is in a slower tempo (quarter = 30) in 5/4 time, with the key signature marked as A Phrygian. Final length planned to be 15-20 minutes.

I clearly hear the cello and double bass throughout the m433-452 clip, maybe the piano volume should be lowered after 0:16. In the m66-104 clip, the violins only get pizzicato notes. There are only 2 sections, but the total number of players isn't specified, should be at least 12 between both.

Another dynamics sample, m433-452:

Would these dynamics work for the first exposition, m66-104?

This is not my first composition, although it is my first serious attempt at an orchestral piece. I started composing back in 2015 but until 2019 I felt like I was only writing nonsense, I never took any music theory classes or anything like that. I did start with just solo piano pieces, then wrote a quartet for piano and strings before moving on to this. I've generally always been relatively abstract with regards to the overall structure of a piece. Here's all the pieces I've written so far and deemed more than just nonsense: https://musescore.com/user/36365999 I am not at all upset by this, I just know what needs to be done to finalize the score and new tips for the other movements in the future. Dynamics will probably take a while to figure out for the first movement. Also, what do you mean by impossible harmonics in m311 and 187? Is it open strings that can't have natural harmonics? I've never played a violin or viola, so I'll probably need help understanding how harmonics work there.

Would this represent reasonable dynamics for m1-29 (and 581-609)? I've never written dynamics before. When theme 1 (m1-4 or m1-8) reappears, like in the piano bass at m92, what would your policy be on dynamics? Symphony_in_A_Major_mvmt1_2-[AudioTrimmer.com].mp3

1st movement only so far (started June 2022, finished December 2022), will probably be several years before completely finished. 693 measures, 21 minutes, based on 17 random themes Scoring: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons 3 horns, trumpet, trombone 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, double bass Piano, harp