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Today I submit a recent work I premiered recently in a concert. This is a caprice with some influence from my origins in Ukraine but maybe not so obvious or exagerated but still in a simple way. It was composed in a short period of time the same day of the concert so this is primarily the reason of the simplicity and repetition. (I also attach a violin version of the score if you like it) Hope you like it! CapriccioViola.mp3 CapriccioViola.pdf

This is my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 4". Here are the links to my three previous Caprices for solo violin: https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44427/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-1/ https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44439/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-2/ https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44505/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-3/ EDIT on 31/7/23, 1:00PM GMT: I posted an edited version of the score and mp3 in response to feedback. The edits concern the arpeggios of bars 10 & 11 which I replaced with the same notes laid out successively instead of as arpeggios and bars 14 & 15 where I replaced the 4-line tremolos with 3-line tremolos. I hope and believe that this revised version is playable on the violin.

This is my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 3". It is the first string piece I have composed in which I utilize left-hand pizzicato. Here are the links to my two previous Caprices for solo violin: https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44427/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-1/ https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44439/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-2/

"This is my first Caprice for Solo violin. It is my submission to the "From Bits to Bangers" Young Composers music competition. I chose the first of the five 8-bit video game music tracks available to be chosen from, the "Dragon's Lair". The beginning of my piece starts off from my perception of the starting part of the track. Then I proceed to build on it what becomes my caprice. Later that initial part returns in various different forms." The above was my description of the piece that I provided with my submission to the competition. For me the piece sounds like a masterpiece all-through. And since music cannot be judged - at least not entirely - objectively, if at all (its appeal being largely subjective), I think I am entitled to my opinion and my opinion counts. And yet, most of the judges of the competition - at least 3 of 5 of them - judged it as extremely a bad piece, failing to see anything good in it at all. One even had the impudence to give a score of "0" in one category! The question arises: in such competitions where judges rule, who judges the judges? Are there no criteria to hold them accountable when they cross lines and let their subjective biases show through? I guess my music is of such a high level that it is only appreciated by a select few. And since music's appeal is largely subjective, if the majority of judges and even the audience condemn it as bad it should not and does not matter. I have spoken this time when at other times I did not (when posting a judged piece) since this time the judgements, especially by 3 of the judges were unacceptably harsh and would seem to amount to a devaluation of the piece. And also because if I stay silent again this time, it will be taken as acceptance of all that degrading, unacceptable, judgemental and devaluing judgements by 3-5 of the 6 judges. As to why I chose to speak here, a place that might seem inappropriate since it is intended for posting pieces, the reasons are twofold: 1) I did not want to be lured into the "Dragon's Lair" of the judges themselves by responding with my objections in the premises of the competition where my piece was almost trodden underfoot. 2) There must be a re-evaluation of my masterpiece - at least in my opinion - and so when posting it I could not afford to not make my opinion of the unacceptable nature of the judgements it underwent in that competition clear!!!

This is my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 2". It is also the second caprice that I have ever composed. My first one (see the link below) was my submission to the "From Bits to Bangers" Young Composers Composition Competition, based on the "Dragon's Lair" video game music track and received low marks in part because it did not reflect the theme of the track too strongly. I would be interested in hearing your opinions as to how this one compares to that first effort of mine in the genre of the caprice, purely as an example of a caprice. Here is the link to my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 1": https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44427/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-1/

Hello, everyone! Here is a short piece I wrote this week for English horn and piano based on a poem of mine; the poem is simple, and motivated by image (a writing style of which I am very fond). I have termed the piece as a “fantasy,” mostly due to its free-flowing form and structure; if I were to expand on that, it very much conforms to an introduction—caprice format. The piece coincides with the poem, wherein a young boy is wandering about a savanna plain, playing, and comes to a rest in a dense, gum-tree grove. Here, he begins to fall asleep next to a cool brook – which was hidden by the trees – and he begins to imagine capricious pixies and fairies dancing around. Section I – the introduction – is serious and flowing, shifting from 4/4 to 6/8, and it depicts the oppressive summer heat and the haziness of the powerful sun; section II – the caprice/dance – is playful, light, and in 7/8, introducing intrigue, enigma, and a break from the heat. Overall, it is a relatively short and simple piece, and I will hopefully work on a recording of it, along with my clarinet sonata (after I ruminate all your comments, of course). The English horn is one of my favorite instruments (in part due to its warm and low register), and I really wanted to work on a piece for it. I have attached a watercolor by one of favorite painters, J. M. W. Turner – “On the Washburn,” that I feel pairs with the set well. I’d love to hear your critiques, and thanks for listening!