Matusleo

darkangel2008hk, jannokas, Thank you for your kind comments about my Piano Concerto. I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed it. :-) Dominus tecum

You could download Finale NotePad for free. Their latest version should be able to read my file no problem! Awesome! Glad you approve! :-) Is this before or after the development section begins? What would you suggest to hook the listener? I blame Robert Simpson for my love of heavy brass. This piece is intentionally supposed to have a heavy brass section, but they are supposed to blend. Could you cite a place where you don't think it interacts well? Great! I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thank you for taking the time to listen and comment on my work. :-) Dominus vobiscum

Thanks for listening and commenting on the first movement, Qc! I do hope you take the time to consider the other two movements as well and share your thoughts on them. Yes, that's definitely what I meant! Guilty as charged! That said, I have a guide on the instrument sof the orchestra and their various ranges and capabilities. I know I was getting a little high with these instruments, but my guidebook said it was okay. Obviously, I go too high too often for good taste. You'll discover the same thing happens in Mvt II and III. These movements are all going to be revised to improve the orchestration based on the comments and suggestions I receive. They are complete only in the sense that the musical material is completely laid out form first note to last note. Once I can get my paws on the full Finale and the Garritan Orchestral Libraries (my current computer won't support them), I plan on adding an additional two French Horns, making the woodwind section by threes, and adding Violin III, Viola II, and Cello II to the Strings. I'll also move many bits that won't sound on the Celesta to the Glockenspiel and place them in the right octave where appropriate. I know most of my Celesta lines won't sound in a real orchestra at present. In fact, in measure 505 I've explicitly written in the score that the Celesta part is to be played on the Glockenspiel which does have sufficient projection if struck hard with metal mallets ( I know, I played this instrument myself as was continually told to soften my touch because I overwhelmed the band). If you see any other problems with the orchestration let me know so I can add them to my list of corrections. But listen to the next two movements knowing that some of those problems are already on my list to address.

The Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor has been my main musical endeavor for the last four years. I have already posted on this forum the first and third movements in years past. In the last year I have completed a revision of the first movement which has resulted in changes to the piano part in the development section, recapitulation, and a complete rewrite of the coda. I have also just finished the second movement which is the scherzo and ended up being far more significant than I had originally planned. The overall structure of the Concerto as planned is as follows: Movement I: Allegro giocoso (Standard Concerto-Allegro form) Movement II: Fast and Jumpy (Scherzo in A-B-C-A'-B'-Coda form) Movement III: Slow but Tense (quazi varizione) Movement IV: Allegro misterioso e marcato (INCOMPLETE!!!) A few notes on the Concerto: There are two principle themes that appear in all four movements. The first is a melodic theme in six notes (F# - G# - G# - A - B - C#). This theme sometimes appears in two-note and four note versions as well. The second theme is a rhythmic theme (series of dotted eighth - sixteenth or similar pattern). Movement I The first movement begins in F# Minor with the melodic theme in the Tuba and the rhythmic theme in the upper brass. After the Primary Key material is presented the pianist enters with a reprisal of the Primary material before the Secondary Key material begins in Db Major. This theme is melodically the reverse of the opening Tuba line. After a trio of variations on this theme, the music quiets with a soft conversational coda between piano and woodwinds. The Development section begins with a modified version of the opening brass fanfare with piano and strings making various entrances to break up the brass. This is followed by a restatement of the rhythmic theme in the woodwinds with the pianist playing a very chromatic descending series of broken chords. This segues into a transformed theme from the Primary material before falling into a quiet conversation between brass and woodwinds that evokes a reminiscence of Franck's D Minor Symphony. This leads into a transformed chromatic buildup on the Secondary material at which point the pianist returns to drive the development to a close. The Recapitulation begins with the Brass fanfare joined by piano and strings. The pianist blends the fanfare into its own version of the opening and hints at the transition to A Major. This process is interrupted by the cadenza which turns the melodic theme backwards and broods as it sinks once more into F Sharp Minor. With an arppegio is runs into the return of the secondary material now in F Sharp Minor with full orchestra. This last only for one variation before the pianist plays broken chords ala Rachmaninoff's C# Minor Prelude, and the orchestra completes the transition to A Major. The pianist slows to a stop as the trumpets let loose one more fanfare. This culminates in a brief restatement and then reflective meditation on the secondary material. With a quiet invocation of the four-note version of the melodic theme, the pianist brings this tumultuous movement to a peaceful close. Movement II The Scherzo begins with the pianist playing a frenetic and insistent version of the melodic theme in B Minor. He is joined by brass and strings before settling into a minor key restatement of a theme from the first movement. A very familiar theme makes an appearance here. After adding more and more instruments the pianist makes a surprising leap to Eb Major before banishing the remaining instruments. This brings the A section to a close. The B section begins with a playful melody in the strings that begins with the melodic theme. The piano never plays this theme, but accompanies them in fanciful articulations at both top and bottom of its registers. This theme builds in the instruments before being dismissed with a tone cluster in the bass. A quiet conversation between flute and violin dissolves the melodic material into broken chords at which point the full orchestra returns to restate the melodic theme and the opening jumpy theme. After a brilliant V-I run, the orchestra interjects a French Sixth. The C section creates an immediate contrast with a mysterious alternation between a major and an augmented chord. This continues to slowly move about the various sections and through various keys until a brief interlude in the minor leads to a restatement of alternating theme while the piano plays the secondary theme from the first movement. It ends in A major with the last two notes being a B-C#, the same two notes that both ends the first movement and begin the second. The C section includes no less than three themes or sections from works by other composers all woven together around the melodic theme. See if you can guess them! The B-C# quickens into a restatement of the A theme which seems to follow the same path it trod before until it suddenly modulates into B Major. A modifies B section resumes with different orchestration. When it reaches the restatement of the melodic theme it dovetails into the theme everybody should know. The short coda is a very brief reprise of the C material before ending with a run on the piano that ends uncertainly on the same B-C# that started the movement. Movement III The third movement begins in C# Minor with a theme stated quietly on the flute and other woodwinds. This theme is in an arch with an upward melody rising an octave from C# to C# before descending back the way it came. At first the music proceeds by a series of variations on this theme. The first half of the piece reaches its culmination when the melody is finally transformed into a slightly altered form of the playful theme from the second movement. This melody has been given a Scriabinesque twist. The second half of the adagio movement begins with vibrato strings restating the main theme and it slowly builds with more and more instruments. The pianist grows increasingly violent with stacks of sevenths and ninths thundering at top and bottom registers. It finally reaches a violent scream with two stacked diminished seventh chords. This fades into a silence into which the pianist very quietly plays the second theme from the first movement. The flute, now in F Sharp Minor plays the first half of the theme, ending on an uncertain E#. Movement IV INCOMPLETE! But when completed it will resolve the tensions created by these three movements by ending with a descending motif instead of ascending (which the first three all do). MP3 Movement I: Allegro giocoso Movement II: Fast and Jumpy Movement III: Slow but Tense All these have been written with Finale PrintMusic and converted with the basic musical libraries, so I apologize if the sound quality is less than salutary. Dominus vobiscum PianoConcertoMvtI.MUS PianoConcertoMvtII.MUS PianoConcertoMvtIII.MUS PianoConcertoMvtIV.MUS

Well, if I could get my choir to sing it, tat would be doable. But we only sing stuff that we are actually going to perform at Mass, so that may be difficult. I'm glad you like the slower tempo! I'll have to give it another listen at that speed. As for the last line, that was deliberate. I wanted the final chord to have all the singers singing the same thing. Dominus vobiscum

Well, there is a first for everything! Thank you!! What I didn't realize when I posted this is that the stated tempo and the tempo it's actually playing at are different. It's not supposed to be that slow. I'm going to work with my choir director on this one, because hes always eager for new music. I'll mention some of these ideas to him and see what he thinks would work with it. Perhaps. I liked the major chord emerging from the fog, as if the singers just realized that the Mercy of the Lord had been given to them. Dominus vobiscum

Hey Monkey, after your review of my Kyrie, I knew I had to take a listen at yours! Overall I like it. You capture the mournful and penitent spirit well, which especially during the Lenten season that we are now in, is the perfect mood to project. I sing Bass, and I assure you, I wouldn't want to attempt that Bass line. No way I could reach that low F. And I know a lot of the Sopranos in my group would be most upset for having to hit anything higher than the staff (your G and A). The altos certainly don't want to hit C above middle C for that matter either. I suggest you try to pull each of the voices back a little closer to their comfortable range. If you want the Soprano to sing so high, create two soprano lines at those parts to give the upper register more weight. You'll note I did that in my Kyrie. I liked the augmented fourth jump in measure 6, but yeah, that's not very good voice leading, and the Altos will hate you for it. :P Dominus vobiscum

I'm glad you enjoyed this work! Every now and then I sneak a tidbit out of it for my current efforts. :D Matusleo

Dev, Good point about the Tenor line. I missed that and will fix it. As for tossing in a few expected chord progressions, I'll give it a try and see what I think. There is some logic to the chord progressions though, as the end of the first set of Kyrie's is a German 6th in F major, the end of the set of Christe's is a C7 chord, and of course it ends in F Major. But thanks for the good points! Matusleo

The Barber Piano Sonata is a monster. It's what convinced me that I'll never make money playing piano! I am surprised you didn't have any Beethoven's Sonatas. I recommend the Pathetique for a good piece to whip out on demand. The Waldstein is excellent. If you can tackle the Hammerklavier, you are the man (John Ogdon once said that Beethoven's Hammerklavier was one of the few piano pieces really worth playing). A few off beat but really good works you might want to tackle are Alkan's Sonatine and Symphony for Solo Piano (only tackle his Concerto for Solo Piano if you are really brave), and Dohnanyi's Passacaglia in E Flat Minor. The Dohnanyi is a personal favorite of mine, and it never fails to please listeners; a shame it isn't better known. Matusleo

I've never written a Choral work before. This year I started singing in my parish's choir (something else I've never done before), and so I wanted to attempt to do something once I've come to know the capabilities of the voice a bit more. This is an experiment in many ways, but it is an attempt to bring a mysterious aural quality to the Kyrie. The Kyrie is sung in the Tridentine fashion, three Kyrie Eleison, three Christe Eleison, and three Kyrie Eleison. Matusleo Kyrie.MUS

Greetings! I'm going to listen to each movement and make some comments on them as I hear them. If I encounter anything I think sounds troubling, I'll let you know. Movement I: It is reassuring to see that somebody knows what Sonata-allegro form is. You use the double exposition very nicely, something not many composers from 1850 on have bothered with. Your first theme has two sides, the rich melodic character, and the stormy but upbeat second half. Very nicely constructed, and your bridge material works very well, helping us subside into the second theme without nary a missed beat. And you put the key in the dominant for the second theme, thank you! Your second theme even has a brief minor key flair, which gives it extra poignancy. I love the way you use those fast triplets in the upper register to create a flashing effect. It sounds very much like what you might hear from contemporary artists, but within a classical context. The development section is a true development section, with snatches of both these interwoven and chromatically developed. You achieve some of your most gripping music in the 1st movement in this section. I am very grateful that you actually modulate several times as you wind your way back through to the original theme. In fact, when we arrive, I almost missed it! You have so naturally woven your piece together, that I almost missed the start of the recapitulation; quite extraordinary! The recapitulation does not appear to introduce much new, no other development of the themes, so that is rather disappointing. I direct you to Scriabin's 1st Piano Sonata to see how he added more development in his recapitulation and made the piece that much more satisfying. The end provides a good culmination; I very much like the sudden burst of chord sin measure 147. However, I think you can do more than just rehash both first and second theme in the tonic key of Db Major. Movement II: Okay, we have a simple ABA piece here. The opening material is in Bb Minor, which is a little surprising. Usually the middle movements are in the dominant or subdominant keys, but I'll take a minor movement! Your opening material is somber, almost hypnotic at times. It occasionally veers on a happy note, but until we hit the B section, it never quite makes it. The B section is a decidedly happier tune. I love the rhythm in the left hand at 32. Very effective. You manage to hint at the sweeter moments of your first movement here. The transition back to the A material seems unwanted, at least I didn't want to return to its brooding melancholy. But it is effective for clearing the air. Over all, good Adagio. It doesn't really need anything more. Movement III: This movement is in the classical Scherzo - Trio form. You do start in a different key, the dominant to last key's minor, so we're all over the map now! Your A section material is exciting and fits the Scherzo mood very well. I really like the dissonance and chromaticism in the second half of the A material. That catches the ear very nicely. Also, you have a bit of a melodic line here that I can follow, and that gives it the character it needs. The first half didn't really have any sense of melody. The trio is quiet, relaxed, but doesn't seem to have any real sense of direction. It happens, but I confess it is a little boring for me. The transition from minor to major in measure 96 is a welcome change, but amounts to the only excitement in the trio. The rhythmic structure fits in very well with the rest of the movement and the Sonata as a whole, but melodically its dull. The return of the A material again produces no new surprises, a weakness I think that makes your endings less exciting than they should be. Ending the Scherzo quietly was a nice touch though. Movement IV: Back to Db Major, as we would expect, but you create an interesting Rondo subject, because you modulate to B Major halfway through! And your transition to the B section comes off so smoothly I almost missed it again. You have really blended all of your section together very smoothly. I really like the C section, very tender without loosing any of the tempo. Your pdf dropped the fermata on the final note though. The rondo theme on its third time through is exactly the same as it is on the first time through. Why not before hitting the B' section, make the A material a little different too? After the B' section, you do modify the Rondo theme to give it fresh vitality heading into the coda, and it works very well. The piece comes to a satisfying if quick end. This movement more than any of the others reminded me of Mozart, at least a Mozart willing to modulate like a madman. :toothygrin: I love the B Major section and the middle C section best of this final movement. Overall: Like many Piano Sonatas, the first movement is the most satisfying of the four. The middle two movements accomplish their jobs, bringing us to the dogged relentlessness of the final movement. I wonder if perhaps you might want to make the Scherzo the second movement, given the bravura in the fourth. Another thing that I found missing in the later movements was the contemporary eloquence in the first. You shower us with gorgeous melodies and figurations that tantalize our ears in the first movement, and they are notable for their absence in the last three movements. So, I enjoyed this work, and you are definitely a very good pianist to polish this off with so reckless a tempo. I'm just not one hundred percent convinced by the last three movements. Matusleo

Greetings! I have already critiqued the first and second movements to your Piano Quartet, and in hearing them again, I am reminded how well put together they are. The restrained drama of the first movement leads to the subtle emotion of the second. And now we see it brought to a conclusion with the fierce nobility of the finale. First off, the thematic material for your finale, after listening a few times, becomes apparent how it descends from the earlier movements. The quarter note followed by two eighth notes is reminiscent of certain passages in both movements. But it forms a unifying whole for your last movement, all of whose themes seems to be based on this idea. This kind of cohesive whole makes for a more convincing argument, and you have definitely done a good job here. The String writing is interesting if not terribly difficult. Is this piece meant for an amateur group? Apart from a few pizzicato sections that move with remarkable celerity, nothing seems like it would be beyond the abilities of a good High School section. The piano line was far more interesting in the first two movements. Here we find a slavish dependence on block chords and parallel octaves. While both can be used to great effect (for instance, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C#-Minor), here they just sound clunky after a while. I recommend using them sparingly, and breaking up these block chords with either arpeggios or other figurations. Obviously you need them in a few places, but in the central sections and closing sections of the piece you might benefit from more variety. Now, keep in mind, I like this piece! You have sections of soft tenderness, and others of dramatic insistence. The thematic material is interesting and the multiple variations keep my ear guessing what you will present next. I even thought I heard a quasi-fugue in there at one point. But I think compared to the first movement the piano writing is lackluster and does not make for as compelling a close to the Quartet as you would like. Good luck with this work!

Really? I thought I was missing something the entire time! Just trying to hard to 'get it' I guess. :toothygrin: Okay, in retrospect, I see that. Despite the amazing nature of Finale, there is still that weakness that only a true orchestra can overcome. Which is appropriate given the ominous manner in which the Pathetique opens. I must tell you that moment felt like the culmination of your work. It was as if for one moment all the chaos gave voice to a singular lament, and we had a peek into the soul. Truly? I'd be honored! Thank you. :) Matusleo

Well, definitely good luck in Seattle! That's awesome that your work will be performed! Congratulations! :-) Now, as to the work itself, I think the reason why nobody is commenting on it is because it's not terribly obvious what is going on for most of the A material. You have a very moody dark opening that sets us up for a dramatic mood, and then when the violins join in, they play this spritely tune that doesn't really seem to be a tune. It's more a wandering dance across the strings that neither begins nor ends anywhere in particular. And after the first page, those ominous chords in the lower strings disappears altogether, something that I thought was rather disappointing. I was looking for them to make a return. Now, you definitely create an interesting aural atmosphere in this piece. It just floats above the consciousness, and every time I feel like I'm about to understand what the theme is doing, it sneaks away from me. Honestly, by the time we reached the trio section, I felt lost in the interplay between the strings. It was never boring, and you hinted most fiendishly at melody, but I never could settle in. The trio section soothes this need somewhat. You start with what is a standard '3/4' meter bass oompah, and the violins pretend to cooperate for a time. But as in the A material, you start to escape. It never seems to completely get away, leaving us the illusion that we are understanding. The return of the A material did not miss a beat, and I had thought we'd find a return of the ponderous chords. If not at the beginning, then at some key climactic moment. But alas, they were gone for good. The tension is discernable here, and there is a brooding sense of excitement in the music. You build up nicely, and then throw us for a loop when you quote Tchaikovsky's Pathetique. It makes me wonder if this wasn't a hidden theme all along in the rest of the work. The finale is a dash of excitement and I think brings a satisfying and convincing close to the work. I prefer your Cello Sonata, but still, great job, and here's hoping you have a smashing success in Seattle! Matusleo