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Old Jun 17 2008, 4:22 PM
Zetetic Zetetic is offline

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If I have one complaint of the second movement, it's that there isn't enough melody. The compositions are fairly pleasant, but both lack the lyrical, flowing melodies or easily recognisable germ-motifs that make Beethoven so instantly appealing. If you want to imitate Beethoven, you need tune! The second movement for example might easily have incorporated a cantabile melody, a memorable song-like tune. As it happened, the pieces ended without my having worked out by ear what either the tune or germ-motif was. Around the 5:00 mark I recognised a theme returning, but there hadn't been much in the way of development or alteration.

You don't lack musical ability, but to my mind a lack of motivic cohesion is a major shortcoming of this particular composition. Did you work out the tune and bass at the piano before you started composing? Did you sing the lines aloud before you committed them to paper? These two steps are, I find, straighforward ways of ensuring you don't end up rambling... which I feel these two movements do rather dissappointingly.

The third and fourth movements should help you to repeat material extensively, circumvent the problem. I hope this has been useful criticism.
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