2 Etudes: Etude in E major, No.1, Etude in C-Sharp Minor, No.2

Hello everyone. I have two very different pieces I'd like to show you guys

First is my etude in E major, which I composed a few months ago. The overall form is very much like chopin etudes, but the harmonic language, particularly in the b section, can become more like late liszt or even impressionism. The main exercise of the etude is a focus on voicing and keeping the fast right hand very light, which is difficult since the voiced notes are double stemmed with the 16th note arpeggiated-like figure. The right hand can also get a little awkward in certain parts, the left hand requires specific articulation, and I even wrote the piece using 3 staves. The pedaling is also a big challenge, and I myself struggle with it as you may hear in the recording. With all that said, while I believe it’s very musically difficult, it is definitely nowhere close to the harder chopin and liszt etudes technically, but I hope you found it interesting to listen to and let me know what you guys think. Heres my recording: https://youtube.com/shorts/_oecn04h1xg

Then this is my second etude in C# minor, the one after the one in E major, which is more recent. The main challenge of the etude is maintaining a cantabile melody in the left hand thumb (and index finger), alongside a smooth rolled chord gesture in the same hand, and a rapid, but light, right hand with a 10 note tuplet in 32nd notes, which acts as a sort of ostinato. As you can tell from listening to the piece, it is very different from the first etude, which was more chopinesque in form, lisztian in harmony (particularly mid period liszt), and slightly impressionistic in texture. In this etude, however, I decided to expand further on the impressionistic aspect of my writing, experimenting with these flowing textures and ambiguous harmonies through devices like polyrythms and tuplets, changes in meter, the arpeggiated like flow of the right hand ostinato, having two different time signatures with the same number of beats working together in measures (for example having 12/8 and 4/4 or 9/8 and 3/4 together, and ravel does exactly this in “une barque sur l’ocean” in his miroirs), as well as using extended harmonies and other other random harmonic stuff i figured out through hearing these composers and improvisation which may be too difficult to explain in this text lol. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this composition, I learned a lot of new things through it, I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what yall think. Here is the recording: https://youtube.com/shorts/JzwQNJA4yO8

Etude in E major - Full Score.pdf Etude in C-Sharp Minor, No 2 - Full Score.pdf

Oh wow thank you @PeterthePapercomPoser for this award, this means a lot to me, Thanks 😅

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by Sebastian Guzman

Oh, what an amazing piece.
I completely agree that @PeterthePapercomPoser gave you an award.
First, I want to say you are a skilled piano player and I admire you for it.
The notes are really clear, and the sounds are beautiful.
I'm going to share my feedback on both of your pieces.

1. Etude in E major
   This piece has a very classical sound to me, with a light, waltz-like atmosphere.
   The harmonies are very gentle and pleasant to listen to, and somehow it gave me a cinematic feel.
   The section at 1:02 is also wonderful, and the overall smoothness of the piece is fantastic.

2. Etude in C# minor
   Personally, I preferred this one.
   Both are wonderful pieces, but somehow the arpeggios, harmonies, and development of this piece hit home for me.
   For me, this piece evoked an image of a man in a raincoat (dark navy blue) wandering the streets in the rain, holding an umbrella, and coming up with various ideas.
   The development at 1:43 and 0:55 seems to be the inspiration; the arpeggios that continue throughout the piece probably evoked a feeling of rain. In any case, there are wonderful motifs that evoke such scenes, and I think it's well-composed and well-performed.

Overall, it's absolutely fantastic. Outstanding.
Please continue posting.
I really appreciate your pieces a lot.
Amazing pieces!

Best,

Lithl.