Emperor

Written March 14 1987, Emperor began as a stand alone work featuring strings and brass. It was quite basic, but the melodic line in the B section was strong so I kept intending to get back to it. A decade later, I finally updated the work and added woodwinds and timpani. The result was never quite satisfactory; the B section theme had weakened for some reason. Not sure what was wrong with it, I got away with doing nothing until I recently received a score request from an orchestra regarding performing the work.

The problem was quickly resolved and the B theme stronger than ever; completely beating the first version hands down. I added that theme in the beginning as well which was not the old beginning. The overall flow is much better and guaranteed to win over the audience. it’s also relatively simple so it should work for college orchestras.

Breeze

Written in 1987, Breeze is the journey of the invisible wind that gently moves across the land, at times so subtle it is barely noticeable, at times playful and whimsical. It was never really intended as an orchestral work, but a few years ago I heard it just like that.

The first orchestral rendering was a bit of a disaster. Sure, the melodic theme carried nicely enough, but it was far too crowded. Three new themes were also introduced; one of them the waltz, the two others of more experimental nature. While passable as draft, I always intended to finish it but left it hanging until a certain J.R. contacted me about the score for potential performance. Utterly excited and honored by the request, cold shivers ran down my spine when I looked at the draft score and listened to the demo mp3 (using Propellerhead Reason samples playing the Sibelius MIDI file). There were three major problems with the work:

1. Overcrowded: Too many voices playing simultaneously.

1. Amateurish modulations: There are more elegant ways to modulate than I had done at the time.

1. Sequentiality: Of the three themes introduced, only the waltz was kept. The other two were tossed and for good reason; they caused the work to fragment and get seriously boring halfway through. Another aspect of sequentiality was to shorten passages and rearrange the work a bit.

The result is a much wider soundscape where the instruments get ample space to be cleanly heard. Thinning creates spaciousness, simple as that. The waltz has also become much lighter as voices were thinned and used with nice effect in the pizzicato part following the descent into tranquility (listed for a heartbeat in the bass drum). I’m quite satisfied with the result and hope you will be too. Breeze can be performed by anything from student to professional orchestras.

Winter

Written way back in 1987, it began as a small piano part that looped repeatedly until fading back into oblivion. On top of that part, the theme from Silent Night fit perfectly. Later, I added surrounding parts to it and then forgot all about it.  A year ago, I rediscovered it and discovered that it was too long and too repetitive.  In order to make it more interesting, I ended up overdoing it so it became a mess.

Now I’ve cleaned it up and made it move forward despite the repetition.  It is an orchestral trance work intended to harness the peace and tranquility supposed to go with the Christmas season and can be performed by anything from student to professional orchestras.

Metamorphosis – Hope

Tender and spacious, Metamorphosis: Hope is in direct contrast to Anger. While Anger unleashes fury and rage, Hope takes the audience into the realm of complete tranquility and peace. After having worked on Hope for years and always finding it unsatisfactory, I ended up reducing the amount of instruments to increase the width and depth of the work to see what would happen. The result; Hope is complete.

I placed dynamics where necessary; other than that, I let the performer or conductor lead the way as usual. This work can be performed as a solo piano piece.

Bagatelle No. 2 in D Major

This is a childhood work in which I was studying the behavior of left and right hand in creating harmonic content and forward movement. I am currently going through these older works and correcting some minor glitches in notation and fingering.

Bagatelle No. 1 in D Major

This is a childhood work in which I was studying the behavior of left and right hand in creating harmonic content and forward movement. I am currently going through these older works and correcting some minor glitches in notation and fingering.

Waltz in G Major

Written during my Berklee days, I considered it to be complete until a few months ago when I began spotting a certain degree of awkwardness in some passages. After spending some time on the problem spot (and there was really only one), I finally managed to overcome it. The result is a more cohesive work.

I decided against indicating pedal use; after all, it’s a standard waltz with typical pedal application. As with most of my works, the performer has considerable freedom of expression.

Metamorphosis – Anger

This is a work of fury. Strong fingers and high proficiency is required to even attempt it. It is not really in a key which makes it very hard to read; the meter changes add to the difficulty. Initially written for the harp, I was yelled at by a harpist playing for the Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra for the ceaseless key changes.

My cousin, Thuridur Helga, pianist, has been playing the work and does so exceptionally well. She made a few comments regarding certain places that needed changing as they broke the consistency and overall flow of the work. In light of that, the waltz theme and canon have been tossed out. I have to say that the end result is quite satisfactory.

I placed dynamics where necessary; other than that, I let the performer or conductor lead the way as usual. After all, what fun is playing a work that leaves no room for personal expression? This work can be performed as a solo piano piece.

Etude in F# Major

I have always been a big fan of Czerny’s exercises that are exceptionally melodic for works of this nature. I was even yelled at by piano instructors back in the days for playing them as melodic works of art.

This etudé follows Czerny’s example and weaves melodic patterns into the finger-dancing patterns. This work tests stamina and control in addition to dynamic control and overall melodic insight. The use of pedals is optional.

Nocturne in D Major

Since its release, this short and simple work has been my most popular work. With an atmosphere similar to Brahm’s Lullaby, it is tender and to be treated with care. The time signature changes quite a bit without the listener really being aware of it, which is how it should be. Changes in tonality are also neatly concealed. When asked, most people consider this work to be in a minor key.

The A section is easy to perform despite the time signature changes but the B section offers a challenge. Therefore, I would not expose a beginner to it. Nocturne in D Major can be performed as a solo piece for piano or with strings; it works either way.