waltz for a contest

I've been working on this piece on-and-off for about two months now. This piece is a reworking of an older chamber work (you may remember the Grande Valse I wrote nearly a year ago) into a much larger orchestral setting, since I planned on submitting this piece for a competition I felt like attempting around the end of December of last year. Doing so was apparently much, much harder than I expected with this particular composition: there were a lot of inconsistencies in the written music, orchestrally unsound harmonies, and otherwise confounding structural decisions that made it an extraordinary pain to orchestrate this whole thing in its entirety. To this day, I haven't been able to complete it. This piece also happens to be my first serious attempt at an orchestration from a chamber piece, which is why I find it a more challenging task than others more well-versed in orchestration probably would (a 21st century Ravel, I am not).

I've had to rewrite entire sections because of the issues mentioned above, and I've found it alarmingly difficult to write with a reasonably consistent output for some time: there were many weeks where I would suffer from composer's block, and I've only got about a month and a half to go before the submission date is due. I would therefore like to ask the lovely people in this forum for some help regarding what I can do about my piece as it stands and what I can do to combat the composer's block I'm currently suffering from. 

All feedback is welcome! I hope to hear from you all ☺️

Hey @Awsumerguy,

I really enjoy the first section in A major when the mood is cheerful. For me even if you write this in variation form, you can add more contrasts in timbre and colour which I think it should be easier to do than a so,o piece or a chamber work! You haven’t introduced the theme in brass, probably a variation in horn would be great! Also make sure to include a contrasting section! A flirting minor section in F sharp minor would be great like the waltz in Tchaikovsky‘s Fifth Symphony! Probably you can look into @David_DLM’s waltzes, he writes some great ones!

Thx for sharing!

Henry

On 2/23/2024 at 8:44 PM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hey @Awsumerguy,

I really enjoy the first section in A major when the mood is cheerful. For me even if you write this in variation form, you can add more contrasts in timbre and colour which I think it should be easier to do than a so,o piece or a chamber work! You haven’t introduced the theme in brass, probably a variation in horn would be great! Also make sure to include a contrasting section! A flirting minor section in F sharp minor would be great like the waltz in Tchaikovsky‘s Fifth Symphony! Probably you can look into @David_DLM’s waltzes, he writes some great ones!

Thx for sharing!

Henry

 

Hey, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! It's always good to hear from you.

It interesting how you've managed to predict what I had had in mind for the piece: I've just finished writing a tenor saxophone solo somewhere around there. I don't suppose that's the same thing as writing a variation for brass, but I'll keep your suggestion in mind. I'm currently scoring that whole sax solo for brass chorale and string accompaniment; I hope you'll let me know if it's worked out at all 😉

I've decided against writing in binary/ternary form, since I hadn't done so in the original solo and hadn't thought it to be particularly necessary in a waltz like this. There's only a month to go and I don't think I really have the time to write a contrasting theme of much substance, but if things turn out differently then I may very well consider it. 

Again, thank you for your suggestions! I'll be sure to continue to post progress by the next week 👋😊

I'm a little off from my initial target: it's been a week and a half, but I've gotten in some good progress and I've made some structural changes to the way I handled the thematic material. I've stopped just short of the coda to make sure I give myself some time before I come back to it to finish the piece off strong. In the meantime, here's what I've managed to get done. I'd like to hear some of everybody's thoughts! They're all welcome 😄

Hi @Awsumerguy!

I listened to the most recent version you just posted.  It's a very charming and dynamic piece!  It's not over-orchestrated and very much within the realm of possibility of actually being playable as far as I know.  There's some great dramatic moments where the orchestra seems to revel in its grandeur.  Other moments are very gentle and elegant.  I like how the piece is coming along!  I never felt that the piece was becoming tiresome or boring in any way.  It's not done yet right?  I'm looking forward to hearing the finished version!  Thanks for sharing.

Peter

On 3/10/2024 at 6:35 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Hi @Awsumerguy!

I listened to the most recent version you just posted.  It's a very charming and dynamic piece!  It's not over-orchestrated and very much within the realm of possibility of actually being playable as far as I know.  There's some great dramatic moments where the orchestra seems to revel in its grandeur.  Other moments are very gentle and elegant.  I like how the piece is coming along!  I never felt that the piece was becoming tiresome or boring in any way.  It's not done yet right?  I'm looking forward to hearing the finished version!  Thanks for sharing.

Peter

 

Thanks, @PeterthePapercomPoser! Your kind words mean a lot to me.

You're right: this piece is still unfinished. I've taken some time so I don't rush myself trying to make something worthwhile and end up creating a half-baked ending. I'll post once I've gotten everything complete. Hope you'll stay tuned! 😉

Just putting this out there: I just finished my piece! It can be found over here: I've just posted a new thread for it. If you've been following this work for some time (for some reason; either way I thank you 😉), you can go check out the finished work there.

Thanks for the support, @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! Your kind words gave me enough strength to keep going 🙏