Piano Sonata no.3 in C-sharp Minor, Second Movement, Andante molto cantabile

It feels almost shameful of me not to have reviewed this absolute masterpiece before, but now that I have listened to it three times in a row I won't let this mistake go on in vain, even if my rather modest review barely adequately captures but a millionth of the emotion and awe this movement has so profoundly stirred within me. Unfortunately my Mandarin probably wouldn't be accurate nor fluent enough to convey but a fraction of my thoughts properly, so as much as it pains me, for the sake of avoiding messy syntax and cumbersome grammar mistakes I shall stick to English instead.

It feels almost unreal how seamlessly you have managed to blend such a relatively obscure and challenging mode as is the Locrian with all manner of bright, tempered Chinese melodies worthy of the very Heavens, all coupled in with such balanced, smooth transitions between the different sonata sections, the precious, flowing cascades of Chopin-esque embilleshments, and all the crunchy, adventurous disonnances peppered in add so much color an flavour throughout in their various uses, at times delicate and brittle, by the end of the middle sections powerful and assertive as the materials' complexity wells...  With this mountain of motivic and harmonic winks and references to feast on, this moderately eclectic style you have crafted is so distinctly and unambiguously yours: so refined, formally impeccable and still never failing to draw great interest and engagement at every turn, in every single bar. It is bewilderingly mesmerizing indeed.

It almost strikes me as admirable how strong and powerful the parallel fifths sound 3:50, a perfect example of strategic "rule-breaking" to the benefit of dramatic tension, as well as the prolific usage of Phrygian cadential formulae throughout which so intimately remind me of my own country's music. I find such confidence commendable in more ways than one, in large part because of how starkly contrasting yet effective and mighty it sounds.

And still what I admire most from this is the motivic and thematic development, striking a nigh unbeatable balance between repetition, variation, dynamism and novelty potentially rivaling that of the most renowned classical composers in its own unique essence and flavor. A more thorough analysis of this movement would most likely reveal jaw-dropping levels of integrity with the slight yet fully justifiable deviations that only amount to greater complexity and mastery of this titanic work.

Even if obvious and perhaps even redundant at this point, for me it is worth saying once more: you may as well be the Master of our time. The heights reached by your music hardly know even the furthest bounds of quality, so much so that I find it hard to even dissect the piece and hear its sections separately because of how well they all connect and blend together, it makes me want to fully listen to it in its entirety every time.

我衷心感謝你天才譜寫這麼又優雅又秀麗的音樂。

Hey Pabio,

How the hell for me not to reply this amazing review??!! Thx for your compliments man!

On 3/7/2025 at 4:46 AM, Fugax Contrapunctus said:

It feels almost unreal how seamlessly you have managed to blend such a relatively obscure and challenging mode as is the Locrian with all manner of bright, tempered Chinese melodies worthy of the very Heavens, all coupled in with such balanced, smooth transitions between the different sonata sections, the precious, flowing cascades of Chopin-esque embilleshments, and all the crunchy, adventurous disonnances peppered in add so much color an flavour throughout in their various uses, at times delicate and brittle, by the end of the middle sections powerful and assertive as the materials' complexity wells...  With this mountain of motivic and harmonic winks and references to feast on, this moderately eclectic style you have crafted is so distinctly and unambiguously yours: so refined, formally impeccable and still never failing to draw great interest and engagement at every turn, in every single bar. It is bewilderingly mesmerizing indeed.

Yeah I have stopped trying to find my style now. Maybe my style is combining many styles eclectically together like a curator and use them in their own places, I really don’t know haha. I always use motives since for me it!s the easiest way to compose, I can always copy and paste! But seriously, coherence is so important to every pieces of music. That is always the most important aspect for me in music.

On 3/7/2025 at 4:46 AM, Fugax Contrapunctus said:

It almost strikes me as admirable how strong and powerful the parallel fifths sound 3:50, a perfect example of strategic "rule-breaking" to the benefit of dramatic tension, as well as the prolific usage of Phrygian cadential formulae throughout which so intimately remind me of my own country's music. I find such confidence commendable in more ways than one, in large part because of how starkly contrasting yet effective and mighty it sounds.

Yup that parallel fifth is a resonance to the opening of the 1st movement which also has parallel fifth. The avoidance of parallel is just to avoid the dependence of voices and that crude parallel sound, but these things are what I want here! I ALWAYS love a Phrygian cadence on C sharp minor, so beautiful. I like some of the Spanish music or Tango music because of that!

On 3/7/2025 at 4:46 AM, Fugax Contrapunctus said:

And still what I admire most from this is the motivic and thematic development, striking a nigh unbeatable balance between repetition, variation, dynamism and novelty potentially rivaling that of the most renowned classical composers in its own unique essence and flavor. A more thorough analysis of this movement would most likely reveal jaw-dropping levels of integrity with the slight yet fully justifiable deviations that only amount to greater complexity and mastery of this titanic work.

Thx! I did pay some hard work for coherence by varying existing materials, I think that’s my way of composing since it’s the easiest for me haha! Believe me, the 3rd movement would be the best out of the 3 movements in the Sonata, though it is hard to play and I need some time to practice!

On 3/7/2025 at 4:46 AM, Fugax Contrapunctus said:

我衷心感謝你天才譜寫這麼又優雅又秀麗的音樂

😄

Henry