5 Variations

Wow this is great!  I assume that since Wiktor Piotrowski is Polish that the main theme is influenced by the folk music of the Gorale (mountain folk) of the Tatra mountains (I myself am Polish and have danced said dance in a folk dance ensemble).  I personally love theme and variations pieces and I enjoyed this one.  It had many different moods created by the various tempos and was often quite virtuosic.  My only complaint is that your variations stayed melodically fixed.  The 2nd variation ventures into the parallel minor tonality.  The 3rd variation is fast with a flurry of chromatic notes.  I like what you do with the 4th variation not only because it varies the melody more than any other of your variations but also because you manage to alternate once again its tonality to the parallel minor creating a very bittersweet mood.  It also ventures into more original territory after the repeat.  The 5th and final variation is a little short for me.  I understand that it's meant to be a finale/coda to the whole piece and I guess it is difficult to write theme and variations pieces in which the theme is more completely fleshed out but I feel you could have done more that's all.  What you have is great though it's just that there are so many more ways to vary a theme and you stuck to the melody almost through the whole thing (although that might have been your intention).  Overall it's enjoyable however.  Thanks for the music!

Edited August 8, 20205 yr by PaperComposer

12 minutes ago, PaperComposer said:

Wow this is great!  I assume that since Wiktor Piotrowski is Polish that the main theme is influenced by the folk music of the Gorale (mountain folk) of the Tatra mountains (I myself am Polish and have danced said dance in a folk dance ensemble).  I personally love theme and variations pieces and I enjoyed this one.  It had many different moods created by the various tempos and was often quite virtuosic.  My only complaint is that your variations stayed melodically fixed.  The 2nd variation ventures into the parallel minor tonality.  The 3rd variation is fast with a flurry of chromatic notes.  I like what you do with the 4th variation not only because it varies the melody more than any other of your variations but also because you manage to alternate once again its tonality to the parallel minor creating a very bittersweet mood.  It also ventures into more original territory after the repeat.  The 5th and final variation is a little short for me.  I understand that it's meant to be a finale/coda to the whole piece and I guess it is difficult to write theme and variations pieces in which the theme is more completely fleshed out but I feel you could have done more that's all.  What you have is great though it's just that there are so many more ways to vary a theme and you stuck to the melody almost through the whole thing (although that might have been your intention).  Overall it's enjoyable however.  Thanks for the music!

 

Thank you for your really huge comment and your time that you devoted to my music now! 

I understand your complaint. Subjectively, from my point of view, I try not to overdo diversity. I would like the music to be heard in one breath from beginning to end. It's hard to balance here.

I often don't want to take any chances, and I take the brief side.

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I understand your complaint. Subjectively, from my point of view, I try not to overdo diversity. I would like the music to be heard in one breath from beginning to end. It's hard to balance here.

I often don't want to take any chances, and I take the brief side.

I do the same thing.  I'm currently working on a theme and variations myself and I am tempted to end them even though I know there is so much more to be done with the theme.

Just out of curiousity, may I ask what is your nationality and what made you choose this Polish composers theme as the basis for your variations?

18 hours ago, PaperComposer said:

I do the same thing.  I'm currently working on a theme and variations myself and I am tempted to end them even though I know there is so much more to be done with the theme.

Just out of curiousity, may I ask what is your nationality and what made you choose this Polish composers theme as the basis for your variations?

 

My nationality is like that of Rachmaninoff. I mean, I have Russian, Tatar and Ukrainian relatives.

I chose this theme because my friend, who created it, tried to develop it and asked me how best to deal with it. I said that for me, the best development option for such a musical core is variation. And for clarity, I wrote them myself to show exactly what I meant.

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My nationality is like that of Rachmaninoff. I mean, I have Russian, Tatar and Ukrainian relatives.

I have some Ukrainian in me as well.  Do you consider yourself in  general an Eastern European or do you gravitate towards a specific nationality?

On 8/9/2020 at 11:16 PM, PaperComposer said:

I have some Ukrainian in me as well.  Do you consider yourself in  general an Eastern European or do you gravitate towards a specific nationality?

 

To be honest I don't know. I just told you what I know about my origins.

Solid piece! You spent some time making the score look good! I like it! Some peculiarities: m.17-19, I'm not understanding the reason to the dotted barlines other than to show the theme. It's a bit confusing and would be best left as a 2/4 meter. I'd also hide those grace note rests (press "H" in Finale while highlighting note/rest to hide). As for the beginning, I was really wanting the LH to continue with the quarter note pattern as it just hits a brick wall on beat 3 each measure until m.5. Also in m.5 you write "sempre." Sempre...what? (Sempre="always") I assume you mean the dynamics but I cannot be sure. Go ahead and put the dynamics back in from m.5-8 just to be clear in your notation. M.45, A-natural instead of Bbb. M.46, sop. last note, B-natural instead of Cb. You do this a few more times, if you find yourself writing strange accidentals, double check your spelling. You're in Cm and a bI is not a thing lol! Lastly, double check your accidentals! You're theme is correctly notated with an F#, yet there's points where it is a Gb (m.71). A really fun piece!