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@MK_Piano has provided some very creative ideas for the possible badges for the "From Nothing, to Something" Summer 2026 Competition! Check them out: "L'alchimiste Award"- for the most imaginative transformation of the text into music. "Dans l’Esprit de Verlaine Award" - for the piece that best captured the spirit of Verlaines poem. "The Poème d'Amour Award" - reserved for the piece voted to have best captured the sensation of love. "The Évocation Award" - reserved for the piece voted to have best captured the sensation of summer. Of course, don't forget that there will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards as well. And all the participants will receive a participant award while all the reviewers will receive an ardent reviewer badge in one of three tiers. Don't forget that the competition ends September 24th! We only have a month left! Of course - let us know what other badges we could award to the winners of this competition! We're going for French names of the badges/awards to accord with the French poem that the competition is based on.

My dear fellow composers, (exactly) a half year ago I presented my Fugue XIII in G flat/F sharp major. Today is the right moment to post the corresponding prelude: The prelude againPraeludium-XIII-F-sharp-major-with-coversheet.pdf has the Ukrainian national anthem as its central thematic background (as it also appears in the fugue as additional „subject“, and – as a reference to the date - today is the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence). Here in the prelude, however, the anthem appears in the lightest key of F sharp major with an optimistic character, light and playful in 3/8 time. Some words about the structure or form of the piece: 00:00 (mm. 1-22) Exposition of the „summer“ theme: A joyful, exuberant and perhaps dance-like theme, with accentuated rhythms and chords, although being composed as five-part voice leading. 01:01 (mm. 23-50) The texture and rhythm of the „summer“ theme is continued, but somewhat more restrained in terms of dynamics. The second verse of the anthem is played in the upper voice. 01:43 (mm. 51-75) The key signature changes to G-flat major, initially creating a peaceful atmosphere, much like that of a playground. However, this tranquility is suddenly disrupted by dissonances and tritone steps in the bass, symbolizing the horrors of war. 02:23 (mm. 76-94) The fugue subject (“dona nobis pacem”) appears four times (tenor, mm. 76-79; bass, mm. 81-84; soprano, mm. 86-89 and alto, mm. 91-94), symbolizing hope and leading back to the key signature with sharps. 02:52 (mm. 95-114) Recapitulation of the „summer“ theme, now in pianissimo and in the key of D sharp minor. 03:31 (mm. 115-140) The repetition finally leads to the triumphant finale in the coda: The third verse of the anthem is sung, ending with a bright F sharp major chord after a minor plagal cadence, expressing confidence. I hope, you'll enjoy it. Wieland Praeludium-XIII-F-sharp-major-piano-steinway-b.mp3

Hey everyone! Happy to share my finished piece - Metamorphosis! I'd love to hear any and all feedback 😁 -Metamorphosis-.mp3 Metamorphosis - (Score).pdf