Piano miniature

Hi, "Piano Miniature" is a composition of mine that I wrote some years ago. George N. Gianopoulos was kind enough to publish it on his

Youtube channel.

I hope you like it and would be thankful for any thoughts.

I like that this piece is very coherent. Sometimes, when one writes music of this type without mastering the language, the result is disjointed. But this is not your case at all.

Hello @Jan-Frederik Carl,

Congrats on playing this one yourself (isn't it?), since this piece can be quite difficult to play! I feel like the mood here is uniform with good use of motive, so overall the piece is coherent. Thx for sharing!

Henry

Hello Luis and Henry,

thank you for calling the piece coherent, yes that was something I had hoped to achieve. I hope the structure is understandable.

@Henry Ng Tsz Kiu No, I did not perform the piece myself (I am a solid pianist, but not on this level). The performer is a very talented european pianist.

Best,

Jan

Nice!  I like the canonic imitation at 11 - 12.  I also like the waltz-like rhythms in 3 - 4.  Then, at 30 you once again use imitation between the left and right hand which I find interesting.  And, I like how in 33 - 34 you start the voices in canonic imitation to then bring them together at the interval of a 2nd.  Very interesting counterpoint there.  This is a very abstract/gesture-dependent style which I've sometimes written in myself although I haven't published any of that on here.  Thanks for sharing this cerebral piece!

Hi Peter,

thanks for the response! Yes, I like voice imitation, and at that time I was very much into composing waltzes, so that seems to have influenced this piece. I would agree in calling it "abstract", yes, you have a point here.

Kind regards,

Jan

This is awesome! By measure 33 - 34, as the voices converge at the interval of a second, we would encounter a dissonance that resolves yet doesn't quite settle, reminiscent of the neoclassical elements in Stravinsky. A lot of it is experimental, gestural stuff rather than conventional harmony and strict counterpoint. Can't wait to hear more from you.

Hi Zazie,

so happy you enjoyed. Yes, experimental/gestural is a proper description of the piece I believe. Yes and neoclassical is a good term either. Neoclassicism is a direction I really have come to love and appreciate.

Jan