March 12, 200818 yr Hi all - this is the first movement of my first piano sonata. It is in the classical sonata form. You can download the mp3 (6.2 mb) and score here: http://www.cygnusdei.com/sonata.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/sonata.pdf The score is still the 'Sibelius' version, definitely not 'urtext' :D Thank you for listening/reading - I'd appreciate your feedback! ------ Second movement: http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.pdf ----- Finale: http://www.cygnusdei.com/rondo.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/rondo.pdf
March 12, 200818 yr Loved it. Though I would like to see other movements, the one you posted was excellent. Please post more. Your influences are very apparent, and they come together in (I feel) a very nice style. Thanks for sharing.
March 12, 200818 yr Yet again, another fantastic piece of music. :) Cant wait to see the other movements.
March 13, 200818 yr Very Good, some of the best solo piano music i have heard on Yc, i have nothing bad to say! Fantastic!
March 13, 200818 yr Author Thank you guys for listening and for your favorable impression of the piece! I'd like to post the other movements as well, but unfortunately they don't exist :P I'd have to pray for inspiration and willpower for it. I had in my mind sort of a coda fugato that incorporates the recurring themes and motifs, but I was too exhausted already :wacko: But then I thought something like that would be more appropriate for ending of a finale. I'll have to sleep on it. Thanks again for listening!
March 13, 200818 yr I don't want to be picky but unless this to be played on a bosendorfer, how do you expect the player to play the very first octave A flat on a concert grand?
March 13, 200818 yr Author LOL .... good catch! That gives a whole other meaning to 'pianistic improbability' :) I was writing away from the piano - Sibelius actually marked that note red but I thought it was a mistake. I suspect the note is already silent in the GPO rendition, in which case I probably should just delete it (I think it pops out in a couple of spots later as well). Or I should transpose up an octave. I'll fix this soon - thanks!
March 13, 200818 yr I really did enjoy the amazing use of form, but as nico said, the piece did lack some variety especially in the B section. It thought it sounded Mozartarian and kind of similar to Haydn's Piano Sonata in Eb Major. One of my favorite pieces by him. lol. Overall, I'm looking forward to see other movements.
April 23, 200818 yr Author I have a legitimate excuse for bumping this thread :toothygrin: After much soul-searching, here is the slow movement: http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.pdf I'd very much appreciate your feedback. Thanks for listening!
April 23, 200818 yr I have a legitimate excuse for bumping this thread :toothygrin:After much soul-searching, here is the slow movement: http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/andante.pdf I'd very much appreciate your feedback. Thanks for listening! very pretty slow movement. Mozartian... with a touch of beethoven in it. I'm a tad concerned about some of the piano voice-leading (some of the left hand passages are a tiny bit awkward). And the notation is... not good :angry:
April 23, 200818 yr Nice piece! I'll try to comment later when I have access to speakers and can hear it for real, so for now I'll just make a notation remark. From the beginning of the development, you use sharps and naturals on most of the notes. This in itself is not a bad thing, however many of the passages could be notated with fewer accidentals by using flats instead. Measures 63 and 66, for example, would only require one Gb and one Cb each, and later on some measures would only need a single flat accidental to state the same enharmonic tones. (The use of G# notation with an Ab key signature reminds me of Chopin's C# minor Prelude, in which he places a Db Major chord, all accidentals, in the context of a C# minor key signature). Then again, I realize that you may be thinking of these harmonies strictly as G sharps, not A flats; you might consider changing the key signature to reflect this. It would certainly end up being easier to read. In general, when using a key signature, it can be advisable to, when in a flat key, try to use flats, and when in a sharp key, try to use sharps. Remember that notation is foremost instructions to the performer on how to use their instrument to produce the (here, quite admirable) sounds you have created. Then again, I am assuming equal temperament. (You know what happens when you assume...) Also, I should add that this is just my personal taste in scoring, many people would disagree with me, and I actively encourage you to completely disregard my advice if it doesn't fit with your vision. :)
April 24, 200818 yr Author Many thanks for listening :) I hope it's not a bad idea to post movements in the same thread. I forgot to mention a disclaimer - the score is the 'Sibelius performing edition', not urtext. What I mean is that extraneous dynamics etc. are there only to coax Sibelius to mimic human-like dynamics and rubato. To produce urtext edition I'd have to hire an editor! nyuk nyuk nyuk ..... About enharmonics in the development section of the first movement - I was thinking in terms of B, E, and C# minor, not Cb, Fb, and Db minor (in fact I don't think Fb and Db minor exist!), so the accidentals follow those keys. Another option as you mention is to explicitly switch the key signature - not a bad idea!
April 24, 200818 yr Enjoyed! I really liked your melodic writing in both movements. I thought the first movement was more 'integrated' rather than lacking in variety.
November 10, 200817 yr Author I finished the finale for this sonata. It's a Rondo with a pretty straightforward form: A-B-A-C-A-coda http://www.cygnusdei.com/rondo.mp3 http://www.cygnusdei.com/rondo.pdf Thank you all for listening, and I'd love to hear your feedback!
November 10, 200817 yr Author I really enjoyed the whole sonata. The schumannesque beginning (see track #8 of the following!):http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=7147 ....followed by much schubertian/early romantic material threw me off, but got used to it by the end:) (There are parallel 8ves between top and bottom in ms. 39 and the parallel measure 119) The slow movement is lovely, with some textures going back to the 1st movement (the score looks a little "strange", I agree). Again, I heard Schubert, amongst other possible influences. But I still find it original... The rondo: love the "false key" beginning (again, Schubert...). Lovely... until that middle part! Great, but it doesn't seem to fit in there - too modern sounding for the whole sonata. Surprising Beethovenian ending though! All these ringers (Schubert, Beethoven, Schumann, even C. M. von Weber) don't mean much, since you were able to write something enjoyable and quite personal. Great piece. But I would re-think about that middle part on the rondo, and possibly use it for a late romantic piece instead! ;) Wow, thanks for listening to the whole thing! I'm flattered by the compliments. I'm glad you bring up the middle of the rondo - it's quite risky, I know. Anyway, I'm content to let it be for now, but I'm not averse to future revision. Thanks again for your feedback!
November 10, 200817 yr yes i must agree with palestrina, there are many influences in here and this is good and not bad.... (i wonder who's not influenced by anybody!! IMPOSSIBLE BABIES!) anyway yes all the 3 movements are really good, and sounds all very well and balanced, and everything goes good and at the right time, there's nothing i would change, and not even the so called "out of place" part, in the rond
