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Hi everyone! I have previously posted the second movement of my second Piano Sonata here: Now I am posting the first movement of the work! Here are the pdf and the mp3: Piano Sonata no.2 in A-flat Major First Movement.pdf   I've also included the YT video here: I didn't introduce the inspiration of this sonata in my post in the second movement to have it here. Piano Sonata no.2 in A-flat major (2015) is composed right after the completion of the first Piano Sonata. It's the quickest composition at all since I had only used 3 weeks to finish the first draft of it.(It's very quick in my standard since well, I can use 6 years to compose my clarinet quintet...) I adopt a freer approach here to contrast with the first Piano Sonata which is very cohesive. Here I really just write what I want and this may result in less tight structure of the overall work. But it's definitely more akin to my emotion and feeling here! I only use 2 days to finish the first draft of this movement in 6-7 May 2015. It begins in a Schubertian manner and several episodes in it, stimulating the later movements and transformed into a Beethovanian one, akin to his op.110 in the same key. I really love how serene this movement begins and motivational at the end! The overall form of the piece can be considered as follow: B.1-32 (00:00-01:18): Main theme, serene and Schubertian in A flat major. Backbone of the piece B.33-81 (01:19-03:16): Secondary theme begins in f minor but confirms the A flat major. Inspire 2nd movement. B.82-98 (03:17-04:00): Doloroso in C sharp minor my favourite key! End of the first part. Inspire 4th movement. B.99-135 (04:01-05:00): Struggling to create power in a Beethovanian manner. B.136-159 (05:01-05:42) Reprise of the opening theme but in Beethovaian manner especially with influence of his op.110 in the same key!!(My favourite Beethovan Sonata too!) B.160-183 (05:43-06:25): Crystallization of the opening theme? Inspire fifth movement esp. its coda. B.184-194 (06:26-06:57): Affirmation of the opening theme though weakened at the end to pave the way to the denial in the second movement. I am very happy to have composed this sonata as I feel like I am free flowing during the process. I also love how the emotions flow within it whether it's serene, hopeful, tragic, agitated or transfigured. It may suffer from the lack of coherence though especially in the first movement, but it helps inspire the later movements with the episodes so I am very grateful I make this! The recoding is made in 18/03/2023. There are two obvious slips in 04:06 and 04:12. But the rest of the recording is quite beautiful and faithful to the music so I retain it. Hope you enjoy this as well and thanks for listening!!! Henry

I really like it and I feel it almost has like an impressionistic quality to it.  But, I don't think you do a good job ending it.  There is no end - it just stops.  Also, there isn't really a contrasting section to it.  It sounds like it's just a continuous A section with some variations in it.  I think you probably think that the middle section in F minor is contrasting, but to me it doesn't sound different enough.  Also, it would help to see the score in this case but I don't really think that this piece is in Ab major but in C minor.  Whenever you're in the Ab major sections it sounds like you're on a submediant degree of the scale, which leads me to believe that it's actually in C minor without ever actually landing on the tonic chord.  I could be wrong though, but it would help to see a score to check that out.  It might help to make a contrasting section if you modulated to something not related to Ab major (F minor) or C minor.  Thanks for sharing!

I think my favorites were No. 1 and 2.  No. 1 sounded really demented and unhinged, which is a favorite mood of mine in piano music.  LoL  No. 2 was quite pianistic and I can imagine that it could quite easily be played at a virtuosic concert performance.  It was also great to hear the tempo variations in it that gave it a nice human touch of rubato.  No. 3 was quite chaotic in its conception which I liked.  But, it also had many chords in it that were too thick in the lower range of the piano that made it sound muddy. As a kind of overall critique of these three etudes, I'd say that the sections in which you have these kind of lonely chords - they sound static and lifeless to me sometimes.  Especially in No. 3 I think you spent too much time on sections where you alternate between high and low chords.  Overall they were enjoyable though!  Thanks for sharing.

I listened to the original main theme from Luigi's Mansion and I have to say, I like your orchestral arrangement and (I think) the celesta on melody much better than the original version.  The original has no richness in texture and is just really horrible sounding synths.  But your orchestral coloring and combination with Grieg's famous piece is really fitting.  Is this the original arrangement you were working with:   or is there a better version? Also I noticed that your rendition of Grieg's original melody at 0:41 you have the lowest note there as a D.  But the way I remember it, although I could be wrong, is that the lowest note at that point should be a C?  Thanks for sharing!

Hi @Alejandro G, The first three notes are D-E-C and you can have an aural exercise with yourself! The rhythm can be quite hard though! Henry