John Carey - Op. 5, Piano Concerto in C# Minor

Hello all,

Background Information:

1. Techniques used/Inspiration/Goal of composition:

It's a piano concerto in standard 3-movement form. Aside from that, the individual movements follow no set form. Most of the work is based on a single motif introduced at the beginning of the first movement.

2. How long it took to compose the piece:

It took me about 6 months to complete.

3. Structure of your piece:

Standard piano concerto in 3 movements.

4. Obstacles when composing:

Making a decent recording with GPO. I'm still not entirely satisfied, but I think this is about as good as it's going to be.

5. Summary of overall piece:

I hope to write a detailed summary later.

Downloads:

Movement 1 - http://www.johncareycompositions.com/compo...concerto1-1.mp3

Movement 2 - http://www.johncareycompositions.com/compo...concerto1-2.mp3

Movement 3 - http://www.johncareycompositions.com/compo...concerto1-3.mp3

Best regards,

John Carey

I had a terrible, depressing day, since the beginning of the day, and i cried for most of it. To come back at near 10:00 when I'm going to bed, and hear such wonderful music makes me cry, too...but in tears of beauty and joy. Maybe because I'm so emotionally unstable that this beautiful piece triggered it, but...I just want to congratulate you...you sent me to bed on a "high note"..hardy har har....

:D

Thank you very much, Nico, for your kind comments. I'm very glad that you enjoyed it!

Best regards,

John Carey

Heh, seeing your Ayn Rand avatar, I wonder if you took an Objectivism approach in composing this piece :D.

While it does sound like a pretty neat piece, the recording/mixing quality really leaves much to be desired. If you have a score/midi available, could you provide that as well? I'm sure many members here would appreciate it, especially for a piece of this length and complexity.

While it does sound like a pretty neat piece, the recording/mixing quality really leaves much to be desired. If you have a score/midi available, could you provide that as well? I'm sure many members here would appreciate it, especially for a piece of this length and complexity.

Yes, I had a few problems with GPO... the balance between instruments is often not as decent as I would have liked it. Unfortunately, until I publish this, I would feel uncomfortable posting the score. I'm sure you'll understand.

Thanks for your comment!

has anyone ever ripped on you for having the same sounding name as John Kerry? :)

has anyone ever ripped on you for having the same sounding name as John Kerry? :D

Yes... yes, they have.

Now that that is over, have you listened to the piece?

Extremely gorgeous!!! Wow. Your themes were amazing, and you modulated frequently to keep the piece interesting. Obviously a lot of Rachmaninoff influence.... particularily on the 2nd piano concerto!

You are definitely one of the best composers on this site..... I wish you would post even more work!!!

I really have no critiques.... :D

:D

But seriously, John, great piece.

Extremely gorgeous!!! Wow. Your themes were amazing, and you modulated frequently to keep the piece interesting. Obviously a lot of Rachmaninoff influence.... particularily on the 2nd piano concerto!

You are definitely one of the best composers on this site..... I wish you would post even more work!!!

I really have no critiques.... :cool:

Thanks a lot! I really hope to post more, but it takes me a lot of time to churn out decent GPO recordings with all the other work I have to do.

Anyway, thank you very much for listening to (and enjoying) my concerto!

- John

Hello! Time for me to take a look at this piece too...

Mvmt. 1: Shaky beginning, not sure if it's just the recording but it seems a little disjointed. Fortunately, it picks right up after and by the crescendo into 2:10 or so, you've got some great stuff going. Loving the horns in the next section and the drop off to the piano is very nice. Around 3:06 and on, I'm not particularly fond of the piano part; it seems somewhat out of place after the sweeping arpeggios and scales of the previous few seconds.

At 4:20 you bring the woodwinds in and crescendo nicely into a wonderful portion with tasteful string stabs and then a powerful, sweeping feel by 5:00 with the piano going up and down again. All is well until 5:50 where you've got a really jarring set of transitions. The following quiet part is very nice though, the piano part is expressive and the whole section sounds smooth and pleasing.

I loved the theme around 8 and onwards, that was cool. around 9 you've got a rather weird section which smooths into something less out-of place by 9:30. The crescendo after that was brilliant, very powerful. Your ending is also very nice although some of the chords in the piano sound a bit mushy.

Mvmt. 2: Wooo...right off the bat there's an ominous feel about the piece, good use of slight dissonance. But then suddenly I'm in some classic love movie! Good transition and very nice theme, I'm not sure quite what term I'd use to describe it but like I said, makes me feel like I'm watching a scene from some love movie in Paris or something; nice. Liking the minor switch a ways later near 4, it crescendos well into something of a dropoff and then you have the piano and some strings and I think an oboe. That whole section has a great sound, but the harmonies in the accompaniment could use some work, they sound a little off at times. Only until the horn comes in though. The climatic thingy after that is nice and then the rising to the end is also enjoyable, though the end itself felt like it came a bit too soon or simply wasn't quite as "final" as Id've liked.

Mvmt. 3: Wow, now THIS is a movement. Great sense of movement to the whole thing and wonderful melodies weave around to produce a very listenable piece. I like the use of slightly dissonant orchestra hits to give a slight sense of tension that really helps keep that motion up. It sounds extremely film-y, I love it. Ending should have been much bigger though.

----------------------

Overall, I think this is a magnificent concerto; truly a work of art. The first movement was a bit jarring at times with some of the transitions but otherwise was fine. The second could have used some more variation in mood and tempo and general feel. The third was great, if a bit too long.

Excellent work, keep it up! :thumbsup:

Simply amazing. I've only listened to the first movement so far but I love it.

Thank you, both. I appreciate it!

Best regards,

John Carey

Yeah, I've just heard the first movement, too, but it's quite good. The texture seems really thick to me, but the harmonic language is lush and beautiful. The orchestra and the piano are equals - some might quibble about it, but it works here.

I'd love to write more, but I'm completely fried. I'll have to listen to the rest when I'm fresher!

Hey John!

You really are a composer that people on this sight can look up to!

Would you mind posting your pieces in midi format so that we can take a look at them as they're notated?

Cheers,

Robert.

Yeah, I've just heard the first movement, too, but it's quite good. The texture seems really thick to me, but the harmonic language is lush and beautiful. The orchestra and the piano are equals - some might quibble about it, but it works here.

I'd love to write more, but I'm completely fried. I'll have to listen to the rest when I'm fresher!

Thanks a lot J. Lee. I've given quite a bit of thought into cutting down on the orchestral texture so that the piano is more prominent, but I agree with you - I like the fact that the concerto is more than just a showcase for the performer's technical abilities. The fact that the orchestra and piano are equals was a conscious decision that I made, and as you have said, I think it works fine in this piece.

Did you manage to listen to the rest? What did you think?

Would you mind posting your pieces in midi format so that we can take a look at them as they're notated?

I think I will publish this work eventually (hopefully soon!) and will share the score with everyone then. That way, I'll be sure it's secure.

Best regards,

John Carey

Extremely gorgeous!!! Wow. Your themes were amazing, and you modulated frequently to keep the piece interesting. Obviously a lot of Rachmaninoff influence.... particularily on the 2nd piano concerto!

You are definitely one of the best composers on this site..... I wish you would post even more work!!!

I really have no critiques.... :mellow:

I second this post.

I do not really know anything about orchestration, but I do not need to in order to appreciate what you have done here. I really here the Rachmaninoff as well. I like that not only have you done some very cool stuff with the orchestration, but you have very established and very beautiful themes. I really feel that a piece, being notated perfectly and not lacking in noise from the orchestra but lacking in good quality themes, is just a little empty. I feel that it leaves someting to be desired as if you were not satisfied with the piece when listening to it. I am glad that you have taken the time to come up with these beautiful melodies. My favorite parts are the parts were you have the tangoish style, dramatic bouncy rhythm stuff going on with the piano and the beautiful slow part half way through the second movement. I hope to hear more from you in the future.

I do have one complaint after all of that praising. A little more than 1/4 of the way through the 3rd movement there is this part where the strings come in and sound very atonal. It also happens about 1/2 way through with the horns. I did not like this very much. It sort of clashed with the whole rest of the style of the piece. The rest is so definitely beautifully Romantic and that part sort of had an ugly tone to it. However, this doesn't really add up to much in the end.

It is still incredibly brilliant; only two tiny section that I would change in the end.

Thank you very much, RRR.

As for the "atonal" sections, I've had mixed opinions from various people on that - some don't like it, some love it. I think that in the context of the movement and the atmosphere of the piece in general, I find that they fit in fine - especially when you consider the use of dissonance I used more discreetly throughout the entire piece, especially the first movement.