Mike's Music Notes

Archive from 2009

- Fall 2009 - Piano Preludes

Two new fun-filled Preludes have been just completed, makng a set of five in all!

I might just as easily have called these pieces "bagatelles" because they reflect the sheer fun I find in learning to play piano at an advanced age (and in my wonderful grand piano which I've nicknamed "The Goddess").

Anyway, both of the new pieces continue in the eclectic style that seems to have become the standard as I write these pieces - the one in E-flat major starting as "piano lounge" music but then wending its way through different roads; and the piece in F starting with a country/pop feel and then developing through variations.

You can also enjoy all five of the Preludes - recordings and scores - by clicking here
  .....  and please stay tuned for more in this continuing series during 2010.

- Summer 2009 -    Sonata for Orchestra Recording

If you click on the the "play" bar below, the music you'll hear is the third movement from my Sonata for Orchestra.

I completed most of the work on the piece about ten years ago, but only recorded the first movement, thinking at the time that the 2nd and 3rd movements just weren't quite "finished".

However, perhaps I had just become too close to the piece, because on going back to it recently - with fresh ears - I discovered that these movements really didn't need much revision. And so, except for minor improvements to the orchestration, I've left them as they were to preserve the original (and sketchily remembered) intent and have now recorded all three movements. You can listen to them here.

The piece is an eclectic combination of classical sonata form, full orchestra and themes in the style of American folk tunes. This last influence is pretty obvious in the third movement, with its allusions to some well-known tunes, and in the first movement which harkens after the Hoedown! The second movement slows things down and perhaps you'll feel a warm, sleepy summer afternoon in the wide open spaces.

- Spring 2009 - Adagio for Strings to be performed in Tehran

Iranian composer and conductor Keyvan Yahya listened to my Adagio for Strings on this website and liked it so much he's now preparing to perform it with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra at an upcoming concert.

Keyvan explains that this is also part of his effort to introduce new music from other cultures to Iranian audiences. He was drawn to the Adagio because it reminded him of what he calls "the golden age of romantic music" in the early 20th century. He is also a big fan of Bernard Herrmann (the music guy on Citizen Kane and many other movies, including some of Alfred Hitchcock's finest).

As a composer Keyvan's oeuvre includes two symphonies, a piano concerto and a divertimento for strings. He is also an author, having written a book that considers music from a philosophical view. Also, he has a degree in mathematics and is currently working on a PhD thesis on the application of image processing in music.

- Fall 2009 Update - Good news from Keyvan - he tells me that the Adagio was performed in Teheran at the end of April and very well received. Unfortunately, recent events in Iran have delayed getting a recording of the performance out, but Keyvan assures me that it's on its way!

- Winter 2010 Update - Nothing received so I'm closing off this topic. At least one other composer has had a similar experience and I suppose it's possible this was all just a hoax. Go figure!

- Winter 2009 - Northland V

The fifth in the Northland series - orchestral portraits of Canada's varied landscapes - focuses on the maritime regions of the country.

As you might expect it has a distinctly nautical air about it, with allusions to traditional forms of seafaring music (such as the hornpipe) and to the music of Canada's Atlantic provinces. However, it is also an attempt to portray sheer vastness and power of our oceans, and the the sense of awe that it inspires in landlubbers like me!

As a starting point I used some sketches I wrote years ago that seem to fit with the overall scheme. Good planning, eh?

You can enjoy all five parts of Northland by clicking here.

home   music   bio   news   press   store   links   contact   sitemap