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Thank you @Wieland Handke for the compliment. We are here to build each other up. That is why I ensure to continue to review as a member update their works here.

When I was looking at my submission thread today I was excited to see more than expected replies – after the reviews were coming in somewhat slowly in the last few days. The more I was surprised when I realized that a “battle” or a “rodeo” had broken out over my post! So I must first state the following disclaimer: I did not create the user D.V.Vanin to troll my own thread in order to have more replies, but however, thank you @D.V.Vanin for producing that amount of attention to my piece, LoL! 😉 Thanks to @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu and @PeterthePapercomPoser for wielding the sharp sword of forum etiquette to defend me against negative comments. But I must make it clear that I don’t take these personally or seriously. I’ve just seen, that D.V.Vanin has posted some short pieces to compare his compositions with mine. I will – after doing my work reviewing the submissions to the competition – give him feedback with a „counter review“ - in the way as I usually do: seriously, honestly and kindly. And thank you to all the „serious“ reviewers so far, @Kvothe , @Luis Hernández and @chopin for their reviews, I will come back to them later, individually.

This is nice! I really like when the strings enter at m 16, it’s a really nice color. If it were me I would move the Horn 1 part in m19-21 to the 2nd Trumpet. Then maybe bring the 2nd trombone at m22 down a fourth so it doubles the 2nd trumpet at the octave (or maybe even remove it altogether…?) Also, why does Trombone 2 have that part instead of Trombone 1? Overall really nice arrangement, I enjoyed listening!

yes! im still intending on submitting!

That is in fact an award that I was going to create with your piece "Sacrificed to the Wilderness" in mind. But the staff have decided to only award thematic awards to contestants whose pieces have qualified under the rules of the competition. Strictly speaking, your piece does not qualify since there is too many instruments being used total, while the rules stated that the contestants were free to write for between 3 - 5 monophonic or polyphonic instruments/voices, not "players". Thank you for your participation and understanding. (However, you will still be in the popular voting polls and people will be free to vote for you regardless of this.)

First, some negative considerations: What I’m a bit sad or disappointed of is the fact that you – together with two other submissions so far – have not meet the requirements of the competition, since the piece is too short than the requested 3 minutes. I don't think that was an unintentional mistake, but rather a sign of a certain laxity: “I can easily ignore these rules—it's just for fun, after all.” Yes, the competition is „just fun“ and the rules are not given from a higher authority. But if you are playing a game with some friends where you have negotiated some rules in advance, and somebody does not obey them, the „fun“ instantly decreases. With this in mind, you bring me as reviewer into the uncomfortable situation to be forced to break the rules, too, whenever I give you a review taking all (other) criteria into consideration and do not skip your piece due to disqualification. Now, coming to the music. Some other reviewers have noted that the piece „is not a fugue“. That is true – not only since it does not start with the subject in only one voice. But it doesn’t matter because the task of the competition was not to write fugues. Writing a „Chinese Fugue“ is „inherently impossible“ since, when using pentatonic harmonies you cannot apply the formal rules of a western fugue which are based on diatonic harmonies. So I think, the piece is an invention or a „fugato“ and the title could be changed to „Fuga“ Chinesen (with quotation marks around the word fugue) to avoid complaints by contrapuntal purists (like me 😀). I have taken a quick look at the score while listening and discovered at least the following entries of a subject and countersubject: Subject: mm. 1-8 (G Dizi) Subject: mm. 22-29 (Erhu) Subject: mm. 63-70 (G Dizi) Countersubject: mm. 1-5a (Erhu) Countersubject: mm. 31-35a (Guzheng) Countersubject: mm. 63-67a (Erhu) There are also some nice sequences (in mm. 47-52 and 53-63) which could be considered as fugal episodes and the last bars (from mm. 71-78) could be a coda. There are as well shorter motifs which are derived from the initial thematic material Melodies Themes Motives: There are distinctive themes in the different instruments which are organized in a counterpuntual technique. Harmony Chords Textures: Nice pentatonic harmonies and interesting textures. Form Development Structure Time: The development should have been continued in order to achieve the minimum required length for the piece. Originality Creativity: Well done. The piece is unique and distinctive between all submissions (so far) with its pentatonic harmonics. Score Presentation: The score is clean, however I would like to have some dynamic or articulation marks (so far they are applicable/possible for the respective instrument) Instrumentation Orchestration Playability: I’m not able to judge that since I’m not familiar with the instruments, but I would guess there are no problems. Execution of Given Challenge: The piece clearly depicted a – for me – exotic world, however it did not arise the imagination of a phoenix. Taste: I like the piece with its really Chinese mood. Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 9 8 1 10 8 8 5 8 Average: 7.125

Here is my submission to the Landscapes event! -Unc

Thank you. But I don’t think we should take the reviews all that seriously. They’re mostly just opinions, and I, for one, don’t feel qualified to ‘judge’ anything. But I do think any feedback can be useful.

My Submission for the "Landscapes - Soundscapes" competition

Jealousy : Is when you want someone to STOP what there doing Envy : is when you want to DO what there doing

Thanks Henry! So glad you like it 😀 Will definitely try your suggestion: it's a great idea. The other two movements are going to be very challenging to orchestrate, especially the third. I've already started on it, and it's a real beast!

Brotha Henry, I've been meaning to comment on this movement for a while, I apologize for the delay. This first movement is full of evocative and memorable themes, which intertwine as the piece progresses. In fact, I found myself humming the beginning "expressivo" theme during work. Your compositional method, including counterpoint and motivic development, reminds me of Brahms but I can see you are adding in your own "random pauses" to the mix. I would be careful these pauses don't interrupt the works organic flow, such as 6:45, which I found a tad out of style. However, I thought 6:55 flowed really well, so the contrast does it's job. Lots of imaginative figurations in the strings, all the while, maintaining support for the clarinet line. Nevertheless, this is definitely one of the darker pieces I've heard, I hope you are in a much better state now, Henry. If this is Yin, then I believe your sextet must be Yang.

Dear Henry, Thank you very much for your kind words. I’m delighted that you enjoyed it. Haha, regarding your handwriting, what matters is that it is genuine and authentic. After all, Beethoven was never famous for the beauty of his manuscript scores, yet even from his handwriting one can perceive the uniqueness of his personality and the genius that he was. Best regards, Vasilis

Hi @Alex Weidmann ! I really enjoy your arrangement here, especially on how you create sparse atmosphere with flutes and harp (which is also your favourite style). The Strings passage in b.16 sounds amazing and I absolutely love the parallel 5ths there to create the hollow and ethereal effect. Yup i really agree with you here, two trumpets may sound a bit too loud to me especially when the strings are up high in the sky playing that etheral melody! The weaker power of horn conversely becomes an advantage since it acts more like an overtone of trombone there, just like what you do in the strings section when the 2nd violin as overtone is sandwiched between the 1st violin and viola. Given how you pair up an English horn with flute in b.30, would you also pair up a clarinet with flute in b.32, and drop it in b.34? Thx for sharing this wonderful arrangement! Henry

Hello @Tristan25 , Welcome to the forum! It is a nice little waltz. I feel like sometimes the harmony and melody are in clash, e.g. in b.5 the accompaniment suggests tonic A minor but the melody suggests ii7, or in b.18 the accompaniment it's domininant while the melody is in tonic, plus a false relation clash of G# and G natural. This happens in a quite a lot of place throughout the piece. Unless you wanna go for the tonal clash effect, you will need to check whether both hands are in same harmony. About the scoring you don't need to include the time signature in all the rows, but only in the beginning of the piece. The first triplet marking is probably wrong I guess. Some crotchets rests are unnecessary and shoukd use a whole bar rest instead, e.g. b.15. The dynamic markings (p) in b.42 and onwards are unnecssary and should be removed until b.50's mf. Thx for sharing and joining the forum! Henry

Hi @Vasilis Michael ! Lots of nice harmony like sudden nepolitan chords, modal borrowings (usually from minor keys) and unexpected modulation throughout the work, in a nice hunting rhythm. Thx for sharing! I haven't written a score for many years given my bad handwritting haha, unlike our PaperthePetercomposer a.k.a@PeterthePapercomPoser lol. Henry

A little Feedback on Melody lines :

Sorry, I kind of ran out of inspiration and even though I never forgot about the competition and even composed a draft I couldn't really go any farther than that. Thanks for understanding in advance.

Yusss... Have been quite behind, juggling my attempt at this score, and "life". It'll be in, on time :')

I'm 100% sure our Boss @chopin won't make silly mistake like this in Music Jotter ^0^

You're welcome. Musescore is wrong. There's some kind of glitch in the horns where if you go up to concert Bb in the treble clef it marks it as outside the range. It's because someone programmed it wrong where a concert F should be the top of the range rather than the written F (transposed into F Horn). It's just a mistake they haven't remedied yet.

If you can't listen to it fully because you aren't masochistic enough, then you should better just stay out of it instead of making rootless criticism, as it won't make us happier seeing someone not enjoying their masochistic play. Henry

You don't explain anything by posting your own music in other member's post. Also since you are a new member here, please check out the forum etiquette in the link below: Forum etiquette and Code of Conduct - Advice and Techniques - Young Composers Music Forum If you click into it please check out rule 2b: So you should post your composition as a new dedicated topic, and then you explain why @Wieland Handke 's music is "bland and forgettable, have nothing enjoyable and is not interesting to listen", and maybe then quote your own work here, instead of just posting your work here with zero explanation. Henry

But it is just your subjective feeling, you will have to elaborate more on why the themes are bland and why the music is forgettable and there's nothing enjoyable.. Maybe you are a new member here, but in this forum we only welcome constructive feedback like @PeterthePapercomPoser said. We are not like YouTube or reddit or discord where you can just leave a negative statement without explaining and get away with it, because what we want to achieve in this forum is to allow beneficial interaction between reviewers and reviewees so that both can progress in their own musical journeys. Clearly leaving just subjective statement without any analysis cannot do that at all. This can be really detrimental to many of our members because what they need is constructive feedback, not rootless criticism which won't help them grow and might harm their confidence in composing, just hope you understand that. Henry

Those are just your opinions offered without anything to substantiate them. Do you have any constructive feedback to offer? Perhaps you could use the Reviewing Template to justify your opinion?

No, unfortunately not this time. I am away and unable to finish the work I started.

Why so? Could you explain and elaborate more on that? Henry

Great! Looking forward to hearing it! You will have a week (until June 9th) to review and vote for the winners.

Yes I still intend to submit a piece :) I also have a question: will there be a period after submissions are done to allow me and others to review the other pieces?

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 9.5 8 10 10 10 8 10 8.5 Avg: 9.25 This piece definitely captures the anxious commuter during rush hour I think. You captured the forward momentum beautifully during the train ride sessions. The score presentation is a perfect 10 because of your annotations, which helps the listener understand your intentions much more clearly. Your usage of dissonant chords to designate the train's departure was excellent, and the trills to portray the nightingale was really creative. And on top of all of this, your theme was extremely coherent / catchy. Overall, between your director's cues (basically, your score) and the music itself, this was a coherent, creative and beautiful piece to listen to. And you weren't afraid to take chances, which I feel, paid off very well.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 8.5 8 9 9.5 9 10 9 Average Score: 8.8 Review: Melodies/Themes/Motives - There are many recognisable motifs, quite a few of which take the form of trills, etc. Harmony/Chords/Textures - The texture feels rich yet dynamic. Form/Development/Structure/Time - Performed as described and for an appropriate duration.. Originality/Creativity - The choice of instruments, particularly the two pianos, is unusual, but having listened to the piece and looked at the score, I believe it is entirely justified. Score Presentation - The score is correct and easy to read. Instrumentation/Orchestration/Playability The score is very effective, but it seems entirely playable. Execution of Given Challenge - I think the author has succeeded in achieving his aim. Taste - I like this piece because of its unique flavor.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 8.5 10 10 5 8 9 9 Avg: 8.4 Rough crowd with this one lol. I have a very different take. While I'm not sure this reminds me of rain, this DOES remind me of meditation with an Asian influence perhaps. I'm not sure if you were going for that, but that's how I feel. I love the mood you portray too, even though it's dark sounding, you were able to portray a sense of peace and contemplation in my opinion. Very nice work, and creative!

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste - - - - - - - - Average Score: No calification Review: The truth is, I don’t think this piece can really be judged, as it’s always being compared to others in some way, and a certain minimum standard is expected. And I’m not so much referring to creativity, which is evident at times. There’s a certain rhythmic pattern, a few clichéd lines. But overall, it lacks coherence and the score defies all logic.

Entry: I do not what to put here? Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 1 2 1 5 1 0 0 1 Average Score: 1.375 Same reasons as @Kvothe

Entry: I do not what to put here? Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 Average Score: 1 Review: Score presentation: The score was not well presented. You did not know what the instruments were playing! Playability: This is impossible to be played by anyone. Execution: this failed to meet the goals of the competition Form: This piece barely any proper form or structure. Taste: sadly, this is not with in my musical taste. (Note: It hurts me score a piece this low)

Well understood

thank you so much for your comment! may u tell me in what ways can i do better?

Thanks for listening to the piece. I really appreciate it!

Hi @Petr Kopuletý ! I quite enjoy the piece and I think both instruments match well. The piece to me sounds progressively more dissonant (from a more pentatonic to a more dissonant harmony) and oboe and harp more passionate (and harder to play) towards the end. Thx for sharing! Henry

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 7.5 6 9 10 10 10? 9 8 Avg: 8.67 Really good job on portraying the scene, which is the whole point of this challenge. And executed with custom percussion sounds nonetheless! While the score is hard to follow, clearly you needed that setup to execute the musical output. I gave you a 10 anyway because you communicated your intent, and you clearly cared about the musical output, which is important to me as a listener. I have no idea if this is playable, but assuming yes, so you get a 10 with a question mark. This reminded me of a jungle scene which is close enough to your image! And I even hear what sounds like water in your music which I would imagine represents the reservoir. VERY well done!

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 4 10 7 10 10 10 6.5 8 Avg: 8.2 This is gorgeous and very cinematic. A very well done mood piece. I feel a much greater sense of tension. There is a great deal of tension with this piece, and it makes me wary about being on or near this mountain! Or perhaps the area around this mountain has a deep secret. A perfect score for a mystery movie. Overall, I love the harmony and the mood.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 7.5 8 8 10 9 9 8 8 Average Score: 8.4 Review: Melodies/Themes/Motives - There is a wealth of rhythmic and melodic motifs. The truth is that the piece unfolds with absolute ease, without any abrupt breaks or clumsy transitions. Harmony/Chords/Textures - The textures are really well done; I particularly like the fact that the sound never feels overloaded, even with so many instruments. Form/Development/Structure/Time - The overall structure has a somewhat rhapsodic feel to it. Yet it feels like a self-contained entity that needs no explanation. Originality/Creativity - The sheer array of tuned and untuned, traditional and invented or improvised percussion instruments is fantastic, and is utilised with great flair and skill. Score Presentation - The score is very well written, easy to follow and a pleasure to look at as a whole. Instrumentation/Orchestration/Playability As for the instrumentation, this has already been discussed. The orchestration is excellent; although one might think that a large ensemble of percussion instruments would be unable to carry off something of this nature, that is not the case here. The timbres blend and unfold, and there is scope for melodic accents to emerge from the rhythmic foundation. I’m no expert on percussion, but judging by the way the score is arranged, it seems clear that each section can be played by a single musician. Execution of Given Challenge - The description of the “soundscape” is a real bonus. And I think the composition captures it very well. Taste - I quite like the piece. I’ve always been fascinated by percussive works, ever since John Cage… provided they convey something to me.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 9 8 9 9 9 9 10 Average Score: 8.8 Review: Melodies/Themes/Motives - Rather than melodies, what I perceive are sound structures that follow one another and sometimes echo one another. It’s an approach reminiscent of the work of the great John Cage. Harmony/Chords/Textures - In this respect, I think the piece is outstanding. The textures are very rich; at times they are homophonic, or almost so, whilst at others they take on a polyphonic character, with transitions that feel very natural. The combination of harmonics with more basic sounds is also very effective. At times, it feels as though the soul of the piece is breaking free and soaring... Form/Development/Structure/Time - I think the length is just right for conveying what it sets out to do. I believe that, once again drawing inspiration from those composers who created their own forms, the piece is a format in its own right that unfolds primarily through its textures. Originality/Creativity - It is truly creative thanks to the originality of its form, the judicious use of harmonics (which reveals a clear understanding of the subject) and the freedom with which it unfolds – all of which, I feel, capture this landscape very well. Score Presentation - The score is understated, yet very precise, clear and elegant. Instrumentation/Orchestration/Playability The string quartet is well suited to the requirements. The piece does not display any great apparent virtuosity, although the execution of natural and artificial harmonics requires a certain degree of mastery. Execution of Given Challenge – It fully meets expectations in terms of duration, the spirit of the challenge and implementation. Taste - It’s exactly the sort of piece I like. I love its originality and freedom of expression; the virtual sound is excellent, the presentation of the score is flawless, and the use of techniques such as harmonics is incredibly fluid. And I find it quite moving.

Entry: Amidst the Clouds & Flowers Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 9 10 10 7 10 10 9 Average Score:9.3 Review: There were some engraving errors in the score I have noticed. Thorough out the score, you were constantly with the placement of expressions. And there was collision issue with one of the expressions. You have to make sure everyone can be readable and is constant! I personally enjoy the string harmonics throughout this piece! They create rich deep texture. Although this is out of comfort zone, it was enjoyable to listen to. It was with in taste for sure. I would not mind hear more of this!

@Fruit hunter ! Below you find my review of your entry. Entry: Scarface to the wilderness Review: The percussion set up of the score of the score is too hard follow. Usually, you would have would have one or two players with a different set of instruments per player. It kept changing between staff types. Thus, that is in that category a four was given. Along with that, no list of names of instruments was given at the start. This made it made confusion to know what instruments was were being used. Please! tell us this next time. As for the playability...it would be hard pass on levels. I was lost when I listen to this piece. I asked myself: where is this piece going? structure? form? I could not make one out. Alas, i need a clear road. That is category is scored low. The textures throughout the piece were interesting, but too repetitive and lack a sense of direction. The only melodic material was in the pitch percussion(?). But it did not seem to flow naturally from the piece, sadly. I must this you did try to be creative, but too hard. relax and have fun. For taste, it different and unique on it is on merits. Total Score: 5.5 Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 3.5 6 4 8 4 5.5 5.5 7.5

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 4 8 2 10 3 8 2 9 Average Score: 5.75 I'm not one to enjoy being critical, too harshly of anyone's original music, as most of the time, music is subjective and taken in based on individual opinion and preference, but from a professional stand point, this score is quite difficult to follow. I'd also note that the terms of the competition stated; "3 - 5 monophonic or polyphonic instruments/voices." {most of the Instrumentation choices here are neither mono / polyphonic in nature, and there are far too many of them.. lol} While I understand your intent, in your use of braces (which you used grand staff brackets rather than part brackets, but I understand, nonetheless lol), for a section representing 1 performer, it's simply not within the constraints of the rules of the competition. I went ahead and graded it as I would any other score, however, to provide you with some level of feedback on the writing done here. I did not want to neglect it, artistically. As you can see, I highly favor the Originality, the Textures, and your taste within the given score, however, the piece itself is very "through-composed" without much rhyme or reason that's easily discernible... Meaning, I don't hear a motif that catches my attention; a home for me to reference back to again, to keep my ear on-track with the music. For that reason, I felt a 2 was appropriate for the form/development section, as well as the 4 in the Melodies, Themes, and Motives. (Slightly higher because of the intricacies in melodic components with the few polyphonic instruments you do have in use for this score.) Ultimately, I feel that this score should not be considered as a valid entry, simply based on the number of staves you've used here, despite the constraints, but I will always have respect for anything that anyone has taken their time and effort to work on, and this piece, in and of itself, has the potential to be much greater than it is, currently, I think. - Uncle Red

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 9.5 9 9.5 8.5 10 9.5 8 8 Average Score: 9

So looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong! You should get upside collosus of prora badge, like extraordinarily existential and huge orchestra. This is funnily fun to listen to. Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 10 8.5 10 9 (too messy because of size) idk... like... 7.5? 5 (great soundscape, but not trio quartet or quintet) 9.5 Average Score: 8. 4375

A lot of overlapping perfects. I see you tried to imitate birds and animals. I see you have done it in a creative way, so I gave you a 10.

As a chinese person, I appreciate your love for my motherland. Anyways, the music is atonal. I think that isn't the BEST way to describe this place. The structure is weird too. I liked the brief g major chord parts. Melodies Themes Motives 2 Harmony Chords Textures 1 Form Development Structure Time 7 Originality Creativity 10 Score Presentation 10 Instrumentation Orchestration Playability 8 Execution of Given Challenge 6 Taste 6 Average 7.5