My F*****g life

Hello everyone!

New here. Found the forum by fellow member siguitar1 and I have to say that I'm really glad he found it himself :)

Sorry for the ugly title... but that's the title... all I could do is censorship it (my english... oh my english...)

Here is the mp3

and here is the score

It is a violin duet. Violonists: Alexandra Wood, Marcus Barchams Stevens, tow of the most vrilliant violonists I've met in London. As you'll hear they prove that fact, since the piece is actually very difficult to performe (but not relaly unidiomatic... at least I hope not).

The piece itself is following more or less the fugue form, with a subject, countersubject, 2 episodes, strettos... and the finale is the choral which shoud've been first...

Written a couple of years ago.

Any comments are more than welcome. :)

Hey Nikolas!

This is a cool tune...it's nice to hear humans play for a change!

-Andy

ps - There's nothing wrong with changing the title if you like...

It's very well written. A bit modern for my taste, but to each his own. This peice has potential to be played in a formal setting. However, the title is very . . . shall we say informal? Ah, well . . . people will just have to learn not to judge a book by its cover.

The violinists are indeed very talented.

Keep writing,

Jo Nomad

MODERISM!!!! I LOVE IT! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome piece... good job...

Andy: cheers mate :D

Jo: I wrote this piece a couple of years ago (but made the recording on May this year), while doing an MMus in composition. I had just found out that my wife was pregnant again, and with 1 child always at home while I was trying to compose and do my masters I was having a tad hard time... So after a "fight" the idea came in mind. But at least I resolved this argument in the track, and in my life. :D I do keep composing all the time. Thank you for your kind words.

Morivou: Thank you. Love your enthusiams (I really do!)

Nico: Thanks my man. Two choices:

1. Right click->Save as

2. Go to my site (www.nikolas-sideris.com), samples, classical and download the track (the v button, not the > as it will only play it streaming). Hope it helps.

Your welcome!

Wow! Not really what I expected when I heard it. Still I love the texture that was created; and the disonance was in the right places. It almost gives me the feeling of tension. It goes to show us all how music has evolved over the years and how well it can involve a large spectrum of emotions. I heard lots of glissandos in their. Were there some places where the musicians needed to imprevise.

You were lucky to have professional violinists play your piece. Though I'm very grateful for her doing it for me, Victoria Parker is the only professional violinist that has played a violin part in one of my pieces. It was quite and honor; especially since she charges $200 an hour for her playing. She was my violin instructer at music camp. So, I was luck to have her play for free.

Well, good job! I hope to hear more!

Thanks Dustin.

Indeed I was really lucky to have alexandra and Marcus! Incredibly lucky :(

It's just a 10" improvisation part, nothing else really... :-/ Why not!

Plus it is the one of the tow golden ratios... :angry:

Nikolas, you would make a good composer for movies... you should attempt to write orchestral film music. You should write a lot more here of all kinds of music relating to film, strings, horns, etc., and think about a career in film. I wanted to say video gaming, but this piece is far more classy the any Diablo background piece I've heard so far. Change the name.. you're probably better off writing untitled, especially when you become the next John Williams. I'm not saying it is that good, but it does sound like you have a lot of potential, which is why I'd really like to hear more of your music soon.

Good job and good luck.

CreationArtist:

Thanks.

I'm already working in the gaming industry actually. Check my website for some samples and links to games I've worked to ;)

(My website is at my signature the first link :))

Thank you for your kind words. :)

fascinating job! veeery well written! congrats to the composer and the performers!

Hey! It was nice to see someone writing modern music on this site exept me. I enjoyed your work for the violin duet very much. I too had exactly the same experience while doing my Mmus. And the performacance part was the best. Your piece had somewhat similar approach with me, although it could be wrong but when I listened it i couldnt help but feel very familiar. I'm sory I could not comment more. I just liked it. Loved it !

Since this thread already exists, I wouldn't want to start a new one for the same work. But this is very old, and I know plenty of people here now, who would like to listen to it, so I'm bumping it.

Rofiler, this is for you :D

Sorry I didn't realize you had already posted this. You know I think it is great!! Prokofiev is my favorite composer and I can see his influence in this.

Thanks Ron,

I posted it a while back, in November... Then I quite YC, came back and thought that I should just bump the thread.

I just hope that more people (hymnspace, QC, Manossg, etc) will see this :)

Awesome! Very well written and an awesome performance.:)

thanks for bumping this Nikola:).

Just out of interest, why did you quit the site the first time?

well, Nik, my dear friend, you know this isn't my style of music... but guess what?

its brevity saved it :P

I actually was able to enjoy the ride. What a wonderful tour-de-force of violin writing!

Your violinists must have H-A-T-E-D you!!!!

Were you bitten by a violinist when you were young?

It sort of reminded me a little of parts of some John Williams scores I particularly love... yes scores that sound like this, that I love. There were moments in A.I. and in Minority Report where the string writing was in the same vein. I think I would probably have enjoyed this more had it been two entire violin sections sawing away at it, rather than the duet. I can only imagine the effect of the ad libitum section on a whole section :)

A quickie question: metal mute? I'm afraid I've never seen one of those... what are they?

you're a great composer Nik, and sometimes, you scare me hehehehe

This is a metal mute. Creates maximum dumping and a great sound (at least I think so, myself :P)

I actually don't think it's amazingly dissonant. It sure has it's moments, but it's so rough, that the actually harmonies, and intervals are not what should bother the listener... After all it is my loving life. You can imagine what I've been going through back then :)

It is rather idiomatic, at least, although damn difficult. I've had the chance to have two of the best violonists in London, who played it, as you can hear, amazingly well! (1 hour recording session...) True professionals in all the sense. (recording enginer me, and I won't do it again. Too uncomfortable! I prefer having my eyes on the performers and the scores)...

I actually, largely prefer the duet, than 2 sections. It is the fact that the solo violins can get SO strong noises of the strings, instead of a section. It is against my usual habbits, as I love BIG FAT sound, but then again... I can't be myself all the time :D teeheehee

As for scary: Everybody says that. I'm kind, generous, and once in a blue moon I do turn into a werewolf or at least a really evil person...

Ok, I thought you haven't posted this, so it's a good thing you bumped this thread! :)

I have heard this dozens of times, already from your website. But it's a great chance to, once again, acknowledge your tremendous potential in compostition, in more...ahem..., adventurous endeavors :D (compared to your video game music posted elsewhere).

This must have been a true nightmare for your performers. :) But I feel the performance is excellent! Very professional, yet truly passionate and...a bit agitated at times? Hmmm, delicious!

I can't wait to read Ryan's opinion on this-I'm sure he'll love it!

I also would prefer the more expressive duet than the section...especially for a piece such as this!

Public congratulations for composing (yet another) masterpiece. :P

This is f*****g cool. I really like the ending, there's something about the timbre of the mutes that reminds me of baroque viols, and combined with the choral like texture it's kind of like period performance Purcell on drugs or something! The build up that precedes the final passage is also really effective, almost Rihmian. I love the Improvised passage as well - great - tastefully brief and highly effective. The playing is brilliant. Great job!

Matt

I liked it a lot! It reminded me of George Crumb's Black Angels (m. 31 reminded me of Devil Music) The only thing I could say would minimally improve it (Don't bite me, please, this is really the most minimal of things) would be to utilize silence more.

In the score the piano parts don't really contrast with the forte sections. I would say it was a performance error, but as the violinists seem so virtuostic, maybe you just need to consider. Since I compared you to Crumb, one of my favorite composers, already, you should know that one of the things I love the most about his works is the silence that contrasts with the insanity and confusion. Please don't take this negativly in the least bit, I admire you so much, and I'm looking forward to seeing your name in concert programs in the near future.

Ok, I thought you haven't posted this, so it's a good thing you bumped this thread!

I have heard this dozens of times, already from your website. But it's a great chance to, once again, acknowledge your tremendous potential in compostition, in more...ahem..., adventurous endeavors :w00t: (compared to your video game music posted elsewhere).

This must have been a true nightmare for your performers. But I feel the performance is excellent! Very professional, yet truly passionate and...a bit agitated at times? Hmmm, delicious!

I can't wait to read Ryan's opinion on this-I'm sure he'll love it!

I also would prefer the more expressive duet than the section...especially for a piece such as this!

Public congratulations for composing (yet another) masterpiece. :)

Thanks Mano. :)

The performers were thrilled actually to have them challenged this much. Story goes like this:

First year MMus in london. First assignement, write a duet for 2 violins, where I compose this nightmarish thing! Duet is forced to performe in fron of public in a concert. Duet learns the score rather well. Everyone is happy, recording is shite!

One year passes, the same duet comes back to do a workshop again to the MMus students. I know it, so I contact them to pay them and record the piece. They agree. BTW, they also use my piece to show almost all the techniques of the violin to the workshop. :D teeheehee...

This is f*****g cool. I really like the ending, there's something about the timbre of the mutes that reminds me of baroque viols, and combined with the choral like texture it's kind of like period performance Purcell on drugs or something! The build up that precedes the final passage is also really effective, almost Rihmian. I love the Improvised passage as well - great - tastefully brief and highly effective. The playing is brilliant. Great job!

Matt

Thanks Matt.

As I say in the first post, it is based on a fugual form (and a choral later on). I actually find the second part (the slow and silent one) much better than the first, now that the whole excitement has passed, but I do think that it is the reward for listening to 1:30 of nightmarish harsh music before hand. Other wise the cholal on it's own, wouldn't work.

The imporvising part, thank god that it worked. We did had quite a bit of discussion about that 10" in particular...

Thanks mate

I liked it a lot! It reminded me of George Crumb's Black Angels (m. 31 reminded me of Devil Music) The only thing I could say would minimally improve it (Don't bite me, please, this is really the most minimal of things) would be to utilize silence more.

In the score the piano parts don't really contrast with the forte sections. I would say it was a performance error, but as the violinists seem so virtuostic, maybe you just need to consider. Since I compared you to Crumb, one of my favorite composers, already, you should know that one of the things I love the most about his works is the silence that contrasts with the insanity and confusion. Please don't take this negativly in the least bit, I admire you so much, and I'm looking forward to seeing your name in concert programs in the near future.

Thank you dagger (don't mind calling you dagger, do you? )

Yes, I think that silence, is much more in my works...

But for the record, the main antithesis is the 2 different parts, the one being hectic and the other extremely soft and silent almost. The small silence (gap) in between, is there for putting on the mute, but it does also serve the purpose of a small breathing point.

I'll go out of my self and propose 2 works for strings I've posted here for you new guys here (Matt and you Dagger)

The first one is a string quartet, with really really a lot of silence.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/int-music-string-quartet-7456.html

The second one is a string orchestra piece which keeps building up, almost up to the end.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/exeliksis-chamber-string-orchestra-7457.html

Thank you for enjoying my music, and I really hope as well, that at a point I'll start chassing a concert music composer career... ATM I'm somewhere else as well. Divided and utilising my two split personalities as best as I can (maybe this is why QC fears me :) hahaha)

Nik!

What's up with your avatar? Those headphones are impressive....:huh:

-Andy

Thank you dagger (don't mind calling you dagger, do you? )

Yes, I think that silence, is much more in my works...

But for the record, the main antithesis is the 2 different parts, the one being hectic and the other extremely soft and silent almost. The small silence (gap) in between, is there for putting on the mute, but it does also serve the purpose of a small breathing point.

I'll go out of my self and propose 2 works for strings I've posted here for you new guys here (Matt and you Dagger)

The first one is a string quartet, with really really a lot of silence.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/int-music-string-quartet-7456.html

The second one is a string orchestra piece which keeps building up, almost up to the end.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/exeliksis-chamber-string-orchestra-7457.html

Thank you for enjoying my music, and I really hope as well, that at a point I'll start chassing a concert music composer career... ATM I'm somewhere else as well. Divided and utilising my two split personalities as best as I can (maybe this is why QC fears me :D hahaha)