Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor Op 2

Amateur composer here. No formal training in orchestration. Self-taught by reading scores. Attempted a second piano concerto after the disappointing results of my first. Sound quality not the best due to some audio deterioration due to the screen capture. The slow waltz 3rd Movement was deleted and the 4th movement now becomes the 3rd Finale. Any and all criticisms, observations would be welcomed. To view properly screen must be enlarged to "full Screen" and the HD 720 p. selected in the "settings. Thank you in advance, JJTownley

@John_Joe_Townley Wow, this is quite an undertaking! You definitely know how to make dramatic and emotionally-appealing music. I felt that much of the music was indistinct, and there wasn't much difference in the moods among all the movements. There was some, but to me it felt like each movement was virtually a continuation of the previous one.

I'd love to offer some suggestions about your orchestration. Unfortunately, if you'd like quality feedback on your scoring, you'll have to attach a pdf or link to it. It's too time-consuming to review a YouTube video.

A fantastic concerto! Obviously, I've listened to this piece before, but good music deserves all the praise and attention it can get! I couldn't say anything about the orchestration, since I don't have enough knowledge or experience, but I will say that the music itself is amazing!

Thank you, Tonskald and Theo for your helpful feedback. I'd like to have a pdf of this but the Notion 3 software I used didn't have pdf capabilities at the time. I agree it would be helpful. Theo, I noted your comment that you don't have enough experience or knowledge about orchestration. Might I suggest you get your hands on a good software (like Notion6 which is inexpensive and has a relatively good sound) and just experiment with various combinations of instruments to get a feel for orchestration. That's basically how I taught myself (such as it is) to orchestrate. I had no training either, but I read up on the instruments' ranges and their capabilities and then tried to emulate what I saw in scores of the great composers. Gradually I got the feel and then tried it on my First Piano Concerto which, though not a masterpiece by any stretch, nevertheless gave me a good intro to writing for an orchestra. Theo, given your raw musical talent and creative impulse, which is immense, I think you could pick up the skill to write for orchestra in a short time. I always mention when the topic comes up that the best tool I ever had far as orchestration goes, outside of the software itself which let me actually hear what I was writing, was learning the 371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass  by Albert Riemenschneider. Playing these taught me how to write in four-part, and all sections of the orchestra are basically 4-part (eg flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons). I'd heartily recommend these to any composer trying to learn orchestration.

Big work here.

I think you rely on scales in the piano most of its part.  Different textures as in 13:25 and 20:20 are welcome.

Also, it needs to write dynamics. And pedal marks in the piano...

Thank you, Luis.

Very well done! Are u keeping tags on how realistic it would be for a real person to play the piano part? I get carried away sometimes because it's just a computer! Also if u can muster up £100 get yourself NotePerformer3, it will really sound like a real orchestra. Check out my Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra for an example. Many thanks for sharing. 

On 9/8/2019 at 2:33 AM, Mikebat321 said:

Very well done! Are u keeping tags on how realistic it would be for a real person to play the piano part? I get carried away sometimes because it's just a computer! Also if u can muster up £100 get yourself NotePerformer3, it will really sound like a real orchestra. Check out my Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra for an example. Many thanks for sharing. 

 

Thanks for the tip, Mike. And yes I will check out your Rhapsody. I started it the other night but got pulled away by an errand. But what I heard was excellent. And thanks much for the tip on NotePerformer3. This one escaped my notice. Must be new. But it doesn't look like it's compatible with Notion 6 yet so my score can't be imported.