Piano Concertino - Capriccio for the Young Jazzist

Soooooo, here I am, posting my first orchestral work, only two months after I last tried writing an orchestral piece and stopping after the first couple of measures I've been working on it for about a month now (a bit more) and I will keep working on it later, but since I have my final exams in less than a month, I will postpone working on it or any other piece until I'm finished with my exams.

Now, some stuff about the concertino. To begin with, it is a one-movement piece for solo piano and orchestra. It is mostly tonal, with some jazz elements. The initial idea was to write a small concert-like piece in a more or less jazzy mood. My main instrument is piano, so I chose piano as the solo instrument of the piece, and the reason I chose to write an orchestral piece is because I wanted to do a real-life “study” on orchestration (and the best way to do so is by trying to write an orchestral piece). I studied some of Samuel Adler’s “Study of Orchestration” (3rd Edition) before and while writing the concertino. I have generally put together in this piece separate ideas I have had for quite some time now, thinking they are more suitable for an orchestral work (such as the intro by the cello and bass, or the coda for the piano). I would generally describe this piece as a more or less “immature” orchestral piece in terms of orchestration (i.e. not exploiting each instrument to achieve the maximum effect/result, or not using the correct ranges some times), harmony (there is little chromaticism and it consists of mostly romantic/tonal jazz harmony) and form (there is no specific form, just four separate parts inside the piece).

Concerning form, the piece –as mentioned above- has not formal form, but it can be thought of as all the movements of a concerto condensed into one movement. The beginning, up to measure 60, can be considered as the first movement of a concerto, the Introduction. The second part, from measure 60 to measure 120 is the second “movement”, the dance (a Tango). From measure 120 up to 223 is the third, slow “movement”, which is largely based on improvisation, and it is more or less minimalistic, concerning harmony (as most of this part is based in one left hand motive). Lastly, this part of the piece ends with a modulation to C, which is also the tonic of the piece, so that it leads to the coda (m.224-m.271).

Regarding the overall composition of the piece, I must say I encountered difficulties mostly with the string instruments. Despite the fact that I've composed a piece for string quartet, and I've studied the capabilities of the strings more than the other instruments, the strings' great ranges, the liberty concerning virtuosic passages, and the common characteristics among them make them a unique family of instruments inside the orchestra, while the winds and brass were relatively easy to write, due to their more limited capabilities (compared to the strings). The main problem was how to write something for the strings which would be more than just chords, but also within the limits of their capabilities, and without distracting the ear too much away from the piano. Other minor difficulties include writing for transposed instruments (such as Clarinets and English Horns), as well as taking care to keep all instruments within range.

Generally speaking, I am quite satisfied with the result, as I learned many things about all instruments, and although I am sure I have lots of things that are yet to be learned, I am sure I will revise it in the future and correct any mistakes I have done.

Nuff said, now to the piece itself! Yarrr!!


MP3 [4.17 MB]: SoundClick song info: Piano Concertino - Capriccio for the Young Jazzist
SCORE [3.95 MB]: Laonicos_Chalcocondylis_-_Piano_Concertino,_Capriccio_For_The_Young_Jazzist .pdf


A note to listeners: the piano in the coda sounds unplayable, but it is not. I can play it on the piano just fine, and it sounds much better than the finale recording (using GPO, but still..). Furthermore, the piano sounds a bit too low in the recording, and I can't get it any higher *sigh* I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing it

A note to critiquers: I have already delivered this piece to the IB as part of my work (we are required to submit 3 contrasting compositions, with a total of 5-15 minutes), so it doesn't matter for my grade. I would like, though ,extended criticism on anything you think needs improvement. This is how I am going to learn anyway Just.. one thing: don't ask me "where did the harp go?!" because I know, I only used it in the beginning... I forgot all about it while writing the rest of the piece. I will re-write the harp part throughout the whole piece, though, once I finish with my exams. So, anything but the harp, m'kay?

first, an orchestration comment:
If you've been reading the Samuel Adler book then you should know that the flute does not go below middle C (or the B just below that with the B-extension... which is still relatively rare). You have it going to the A below, as well as, if memory serves, a few Fs. That's quite outside the range. Even if you were using an alto flute as your third flute (which is a waste of an alto flute considering the usage you are making in this case, and would require its own stafff in any case - never share staves for "different" instruments) it would not be heard as that part of its range is so soft it is easily drowned out by the rest of the orchestra. If your intent was to use an alto flute as the 3rd flute, then it would be first of all wisest to place it in its own staff (NEVER share staves for "different" instruments). Secondly, as an added note, even the alto flute would be almost silent in that register with what was going on in the orchestra at the same time. The flute, generally speaking, is NOT an instrument that gets to play very much in its lowest octave in orchestral pieces. Its sound doesn't carry over the other woodwinds, and certainly not over brass.

My first major complaint about your orchestration is the quasi-constant tripling of the flute part in octaves. One thing to watch out for while orchestrating is placing instruments from the same family in different parts of their register. In this case, what you are doing is placing 1st flute in its extreme high register, which is quite piercing. Flute 2 is in the mellow mid-range, which carries but not as dramatically as flute 1, and flute 3 in the weakest (and at times non-existant - check those instrument ranges!) lowest register.

It would probably have been more felicitous to create some harmonic pattern for your flutes and actually do the octave doubling with the other woodwinds and french horns.

You need to work more on creating orchestral planes of sound. There are foreground (melody), midground (accompaniment figurations) and background (sustained harmony notes) planes. These three planes, when used carefully, are what create the depth and colour of an orchestration.

Your piano writing is idiomatic. So there's not much to say there.

Musically, I find that the attempt to blend jazz harmony with non-jazz harmony isn't quite there. The contrast between the two is a little too strong. There needs to be some sort of common ground. I'm thinking particularly of the scat-ish piano riffs. They come out of nowhere, and don't seem connected to the rest of the music.

Approved for Major Works forum - apologies for the delay.

Qccowboy:

sorry for the late reply, I was kinda busy and couldn't read thoroughly throughout your reply

Concerning the flute range, I will check the whole score again, and remove the notes that are below range (that is, below middle C). I was not planning on using an Alto Flute, now, but thanks for the remark

About the flute trills, I guess you're right. I just wanted to make sure that the trill is being heard. Well, when I get some time, I will have another instrument do the trill, doubling the flute, and will write some more interesting - harmonicwise - flute parts (as you yourself said ).

Concerning the orchestral planes of sound, which Adler analyses as well, I believe this comes with experience. I haven't studied lots of orchestral scores thoroughly (in fact, I've only studied Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra", and that's because it was mandatory for my music course. Still, we analysed it more in terms of harmony and form, and not so much in terms of orchestration), but I will do that as soon as my exams are over, and I will try and write some other orchestral pieces, to practice. I will also read over Adler's book again and again, as I didn't even read all of it this time, I just read parts that I thought would help me write the orchestral part of the concertino.

Thanks a lot for taking some of your time commenting on my piece, it really means a lot to me Take care, and see ya around here!