Yasamune

What an underrated piece. While the ending isn't a Mahler stormingly loud ending, the ensemble is huge and there are some really loud parts to it. Shostakovich 5 is a disgustingly cynically loud ending - very twisted, but extremely loud. I would also imagine Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder to be deafening at the end of Des Sommerwindes I don't know if its the loudest, but the end of Threnody (Penderecki) is pretty loud too.

Schoenberg, Webern, Scriabin, PS. Liszt is circus music.

Nor am I Graham. I just remember I took a look at one and there was a C# sitting in the key signature with nothing else. I assume Bartok knew what he was doing cause I sure don't and am way too lazy right now to try and say otherwise :P

I remember Bartok used some funky ones where it said C#, but no F# in the key signature. Think it was the Mikrokosmos

Hi there ParanoidFreak - thanks for the quick response - I think the big question I have (and this is one my band director at school has commented on extensively) that my piano parts are "unpianistic." Can someone help me understand what that means? As to the other advice, that all makes a great deal of sense and I appreciate the help.

Hi guys, I'm not sure if I ever said this, but surprise surprise, Piano is not a primary instrument for me and as much as I love fooling around on the beast, I'm not skilled at it. So my querry is this: if I'm writing a piano piece, what are things I should steer clear of as a general rule of thumb. I'm not a skilled pianist and only know ultra modern piano music (Berio, Ligeti, Stockhausen, Crumb, Kurtag) so I don't know what is 'pianistic' and all. HELP! Thanks, Yasamune

If I had known about this a month ago, I would try it out, but I'm only in the state for another week. I'm going to Cleveland for a seminar in composition on the 20th and then going to Vermont on the 27th and won't be back until August. I hope you guys get a good piece and I can't wait to hear how it goes. Cheers! Yasamune

Hey man, you can say it's in Bb if you want - I mean Tschaikowsky said his first piano concerto is in Bb MINOR when it's really in Db Major :P No worries mate - just go for it!

This piece would benefit greatly from an actual performer - it is very difficult to gauge the piece by the midi only. Still, I think the piece holds water and definitely portrays a dark 'nocturnal' atmosphere so I congratulate you. PS. another very powerful item in your musical arsenal is silence. It is often underestimated in solo music and I recommend you make use of it in this piece. All the best.

I personally believe all instruments have right to melody and this is pretty easy to see - I play bassoon and write solos for basses and tuba's in my orchestral music. In regards to the idea that the seconds are not as good as the firsts, I always thought that was how it works in high school and college level orchestras. I would assume that the first and second violinists in the professional world are equally competent in technique. But that is besides the point. It really depends on the music when it comes to how often the violins get the melody. I often find it more effective to give the firsts filigree and the second violins the melody, or better yet, the Violas the melody because they can produce a richer sound, but that's just opinion.

I'm a silly bean in that I love applying opus numbers to pieces and I'm really craptacular at keeping track of when I start and end pieces so OP number is easiest for me, but that's me personally. I've also had to restart my opus number list and constantly edit the damn thing because I keep getting confused about the pieces I write and the ones I don't finish. I've started about 200 pieces and I have only finished about 40-50 of them, so the list is constantly being revised. There are a few really old pieces that are rough drafts that need finessing, but such is the way of life. But don't worry about starting the list over - from time to time, things need editting.

My few things I want to note: The rhythms are very good and the melody is strong, but is repeated a few times too many. Some of the things I say may not hold any water because I'm not a string player but: measure 33: that looks like an extremely awkward position shift for the after violinist - I think the double stop on the second violin is enough harmonically so that the first fiddle can just have a quarter note rest and thus give them some time to get to that E nat, or if you insist on keeping that low F, I recommend bringing that passage of 36-37 down the octave so it's not as trixie. A few notation things I saw: measure 73 - beginning of 76 - you might want to put this in tenor clef - it might be easier to read. There are some points also (measure 73) where it is extremely awkward to read and hard to tell where you are placing the tuplet. IE beaming is critical. One last thing - I wish the melody would float around to second, viola or cello to get a more dynamic aproach to the music - it is very effective in performances to see that other people are putting their own spin on the melody than just the first All in all it's a fun little harmless piece which is easy to listen to and I wouldn't bother with key. It's tonal - that's all I need to know really. Congrats on a solid string quartet. Hope I helped.

Hello YCP, While this small piece of fluff is not essential to the question I'm about to pose, it might help a tad. I recently got a commission to write a piece for an orchestra of double reeds - the numbers are about so: 12+ oboes (not entirely sure how many) 2-3 English Horns 1 Heckelphon 12 Bassoons 2 Contras As I'm sure you're all aware, finding a way to get the harmonies to work is hell. But that's all besides the point The piece has some rough spots in it and I have started putting in the H & N markings for Hauptstimme and Nebenstimme, just like the ones Schonberg and Berg used in their music because the piece is somewhat chaotic. Am I the only schmuck who thinks these are useful for conductors or are they useless? Thanks a million, Yasamune

AMEN. But if it were two other instruments other than Bassoon, it would be Harp and Timpani on top of my Bassooning. :P

Good day, I recently came across this insanely awesome piece of music about a month ago. I picked it up again and am listening to it and the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. I believe the work was commissioned in the early 90's to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 2nd world war and each composer is from a country involved. I'll list the movements and all to give you an idea of it: Luciano Berio - I. Prolog Friedrich Cerha - II. Introitus und Kyrie Paul-Heinz Dittrich - III. Sequenz III Dies Irae Marek Kopelent - IV. Judex ergo John Harbison - V. Juste judex Arne Nordheim - VI. Confutatis Bernard Rands - VII. Interludium Marc-André Dalbavie - VIII. Offertorium Judith Weir - IX. Sanctus Krzysztof Penderecki - X. Agnus Dei Wolfgang Rihm - XI. Communio (I) Alfred Schnittke/ Gennadi Roschdestwenski - XII. Communio (II) Joji Yuasa - Xiii. Reponsorium György Kurtág XIV. Epilog Anyone know if any of these this is available on paper? I'd love to see what the whole thing looks like on paper. It's also just awesome. Anyone and everyone who has access to Naxos, GO LISTEN TO THIS NOW!!!! :D It's totally badass :P