Sketch No. 42

This was written a while back and one of my first piano sketches I felt somewhat proud of. Don't ask about the happy ending to a piece about "Little Red Riding Hood"... I had it in my head somehow that she gets saved by a passing hunter or something, so it's not really like the Rachmaninov ending 

It has its definite problems... weird transitions, short sections, and misuse of free atonality, but I still like to think of it as somewhat of an accomplishment. 

I think the only "problem" if it is that is the rhapsodic form with several different parts. But I don't think about it as a problem. It's just the form you wanted to use.

The same happens (to me) with the use of atonality or near atonality or whatever. Currently I don't care if I mix one thing with the other. Yes, it's good to know the harmonic systems and languages, but I don't think any contemporary composer stayed in a unique field. It's different if you want to stick to a classic style. Otherwise, anything is possible, the only thing that matters is the result, and if it is a way to express something, or share something. 

I like this sketch a lot, perhaps for its eclectic character, and its musicality. Anyway, one needs to approach the listening of these pieces with "open ears". This is not very "radically" contemporary, but one of the worst things, in my opinion, is trying to listen to contemporary music with classical mentality. Different languages..

The part in secondal harmony (m. 19-22) is tough, surely because the chords are doubled, I like hiere the A at the bottom. 

Greetings.

A fun journey! Nice tonal shifts in the beginning section. My ear really wanted to hear a high-register octave during the empty space around 0:19 as a little ornamental afterthought. As a pianist, I would rather just read 15-22 as a regular treble staff.

The transition away from tonality was elegantly executed, though I think the rhythmic energy should be kept up at the secondal bit.  

Also, I didn't even register that the opening was in 5 until I looked at the score- maybe it's because 5 doesnt sound weird to me anymore 

Thank you both!

13 hours ago, Justin Graff said:

As a pianist, I would rather just read 15-22 as a regular treble staff.

Maybe an 8va then? I just really hate using it whenever possible because it's a two step process, while the clef is just one. But I see where you're coming from.

14 hours ago, Justin Graff said:

though I think the rhythmic energy should be kept up at the secondal bit.  

Yeah. When writing it I heard it as a rhythmless question mark before the storm, but I can see where the appeal would be there.

14 hours ago, Justin Graff said:

maybe it's because 5 doesnt sound weird to me anymore

It takes me a while to identify the issue too!

19 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

I like this sketch a lot, perhaps for its eclectic character, and its musicality.

Thanks a lot. These old sketches seem to average on higher quality than my current ones.