12 Preludes for Solo Piano, Opus 17

Hello fellow composers,

I was recently afforded the opportunity to perform a recital of my own works and decided afterwards to record a couple of them in a home setting.  This is a collection of relatively brief solo piano preludes.  It's a rather unusual work for me, as I generally tend towards longer, more developed chamber music.  These are more like independent, fleeting ideas.  This collection moves chromatically from C through B, alternating between major and minor.

The musical style would be right at home in the 19th century, which is the period of music that I most appreciate.  My personal musical preferences definitely lie with the conservative branch of that period, and my writing reflects that.

Unfortunately, I am not comfortable sharing the score.  It's not that I don't trust the established members of this community, but rather that I don't trust making my scores available to anyone in the world at a time when the work has not been performed far enough afield to prove beyond a doubt that it is my work.   After having a colleague be forced to go to court to deal with a music thief, I am not willing to endure the stress and expense of doing it as well.  My apologies to those who would have liked to see it.  If only we lived in a world where everyone was honest.

No3 and No9 stuck in my head the most. Very lovely playing, many thanks 1981.

Great to see a fellow 19th-century Romantic around - and one who actually performs!

I loved the C# minor prelude so much! It had some sort of Rachmaninov feeling to it. But it was the D major one which melted my heart. I felt like I would have loved to write it myself, since I am very fond of melodies. The dialogues between both lines during the second half of it made up for a very exciting climax, full of warmth, and quite comparable to any Song Without Words. I would also make similar comments on the A minor prelude, which also shares the emotional power of a typically Romantic soul.

I was also a big fan of the Ab bouncy rhythm and virtuosity. It got my feet almost tapping at once. And the B minor has the dramatic flair which makes for a very effective closing number. Overall I loved these piano miniatures very much, and not only due to the fact that it's a genre I like to explore myself, but also because of your style coming really close to what I admire the most on music.

Congrats for such fine works! I look forward to hear more from you.

Thanks for taking the time to listen, Mike and Austentite!  To be honest, I don't consider this my finest work, but the piece has grown on me.  What is most interesting to me is that people tend to like different parts of it.  I've performed it either in parts or in its entirety about six times now, and most of the individual preludes have come up as the "favourite" in conversation with audience members at some point or another.

My personal favourites are 3, 6&7 (as a pair), 10, and 11.  3 seems to keep coming up in conversation; it may well be the best of the set.  For me, it doesn't rival the emotional intensity of the slow movement of my piano trio, but that melody has a special place in my heart, and I may well never write anything that can displace it.

All the best to you.