Lili - Piano Sonate 1st Mvt. (Langsam Scleppend) C#m/Db

I play piano to around twenty years and also I compose to some time but that is mine first written composition specifically for that instrument,

also I took some cares with the annotations of dynamics, pedals and time changes.

See you soon.

Marcos

PDF / Lili - Piano Sonata 1st Mvt.

MP3 / Lili - Piano Sonata 1st Mvt. 128 Kbps

:)

I was impressed by the score of this, it looks very professional, organized, and is generally pleasing to the eyes. Admittedly, the flabouyant choice of font gives the music a sort of cheesy-smarmy look. However, this could be what you were going for (I haven't got to listen to it yet).

I was wondering about the dynamic markings though. They seem to be redundant in several places. For example, in measure one, it is not necessary to write the dynamics in such detail (p, ppp, then pp). A good performer will be able to know this by intuition. Also, I wonder about your choice of dynamics from the end of bar one to bar two (pp to p). Considering the tonal nature of the piece, it seems unusual to accent the consonance on the first beat of bar 2 - it really is against the flow of normal tonal music. By doing this you are giving a heavy emphasis to beat one of every measure, making the music very restricted in little cells of 4 beats. If you look at the music of Chopin or Rachmaninoff you will notice that they in fact do the opposite of what you are doing here.

Anyways, if you want to notate the dynamics so precisely, just use 'sim.' in bars where you want the same effect (such as bar 2). This way, the score will look much less cluttered.

Anyways, if you want to notate the dynamics so precisely, just use 'sim.' in bars where you want the same effect (such as bar 2). This way, the score will look much less cluttered.

Nightscape, you are right. But I'll bet he knows that a real player woudn't want to see all those direction, nor would he prefer to have to put them in the score as you see them; but the mp3 playback is driven by the dynamic markings, pedal marks, etc. - so in order to get a decent recording for us he'd have to input all the markings as you see them - and THEN hide the superfluous ones, which is most of them, and kind of a pain when you think of it. -Certainly worth it if your going to publish and expect distribution, but for just sharing, it's fine.

For a first composition especially, this is very fine. I found myself needing to slow my mind down and get into a more contemplative frame of mind to listen to it, because it's somewhat repetitive - but in a meditative way. Your harmonic language is rich, but you remain quite tonal throughout.

The whole D-flat major section is really lovely. There is a moment, 5 measures before the return to C# minor, where the section is wrapping up and you have an F-flat in the left hand against and F-natural in the right; of several minutes full of wonderful moments and a fair amount of mild polytonality, this was my favourite.

There is something vaguely unsatisfying to me about the ending that I can't quite put my finger on...it may be that it comes too suddenly, if that's the word to use in such a contemplative piece. If I were you, I probably would have unwound more of the subtle tension you've wound up, but instead you seem to ratchet it up further with the accelerando almost to the end.

I do agree with the previous posters that it's really not necessary to be quite so obsessive about the repetitive dynamics. A sim. or simile after a couple of measures of a pattern is much less cluttered. Sometimes too much information in a score can stand in the way of interpretation, and the performer is less likely to pay attention to the markings that are really important.

My compliments!

You have some very good ideas here, but are often used very repetitively and without much deviation. You have this ostinato rumble going on in the left hand that very rarely does much but transfer from tonic to dominant, every once in awhile it changes keys but not nearly enough to my liking. You have created some great sounding riffs and motives, I just want to see you explore them. You don't really break out of the drone until the fast section, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Maybe because it was the one section I didn't think I'd be able to play... atleast not sight-read. The rest of it seemed pretty simple and relaxed.

The dynamic markings, I agree, are a little poorly used through-out the piece. You place a dynamic on one single note to bring it out, then dip back down to ppp. Instead of doing this, you could place a marcatto or sforzando which are meant to accent a single note. Dynamics are typically used to shape phrases.

After the fast section was the pseudo-C section, which was very similar to the A section except with the left hand with all the motion. It was so slow and so repetitive that I was eager for something new to pop in. The only thing that granted me a reprieve was the rolled chord section. That was all. I was being lulled into a trance like state, and my mind began to wander.

All in all a very tastefully written piece, but not one that I would actively take interest in. I think pieces like these are suited best with a big rousing introductory movement. That's just my personal taste, however.

I thank immensely the opinions of everybody, I will be considering all the observations in the next two movements it will be writing!

I liked the idea about signs of dynamics. :thumbsup: