Tag: classical music

TBT^65,536: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony

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I’ve been on a programmatic composing kick, which seems to happen every January.  I’m currently working on a collection of instrumental music inspired by my koi pond, which I’m tentatively calling Koi Dance.

Writing music inspired by God’s Creation is nothing new, but descriptive program music reached its height during the Romantic Era.  The great composer bridging the gap between the classical and Romantic periods was Beethoven.

Beethoven is known for many works, but I am partial to one of his less-appreciated symphonies, the Sixth.  It depicts a day in the countryside, and fits with the emerging Romanticism’s fascinating with the natural world and the countryside.

With that, here is 30 January 2025’s “TBT^256: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony“:

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TBT^16: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau”

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Other than a quick piece I dashed off earlier this week, I haven’t had much time for composing.  However, my koi pond adventures have inspired me—just in time to reblog this post about one of my favorite pieces of Romantic music.

That the piece is about a river is appropriate—while my koi are swirling about in a murky pond, the watery imagery is a source of inspiration for the piece that is slowly taking shape in mind.

I actually have an idea for the cover art for the album that will feature this imagined piece.  I took a picture of these cool little koi tea cups that Dr. Wife got me for my birthday on one of the pianos at school:

Regardless, I’ve always loved this piece, ever since I read about it in Roger Kamien’s Music: An Appreciation, Brief 8th Edition (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you) and listened to it with my students.

With that, here is 9 January 2025’s “TBT^4: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s ‘The Moldau’“:

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TBT^16: Mahler’s Composing Shack

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I’m slamming out Spooky Season IV, and it’s nowhere near as ingenious as the works of Gustav Mahler.  But what I find so fascinating is how composers and other creative types work, especially when they’re trying to churn out major projects.

“Workflow” get tossed around a lot, but it really is remarkable to see how the most dedicated craftsmen and artists create a consistent and detailed schedule of daily habits and rituals.  I especially love to learn about what they ate for breakfast—probably my favorite ritual of the day.

With that, here is 3 October 2024’s “TBT^4: Mahler’s Composing Shack“:

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Monday Morning Movie Review: Coda (1987)

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A film in which the villain is a failed composer—that hits close to home!  And it’s the premise (roughly) of the 1987 made-for-TV Australian film Coda (1987).  The film is also notable for its use of women in all the lead roles, which would now be a travesty of wokery, but at the time was mildly interesting (it also works because the women aren’t perfectly strong, tough, and smart; the female police detective, for example, seems pretty incompetent, which rings true).  Regular readers know that yours portly is an avid supporter of all women, so you can be sure that I approved of this artistic decision.

Coda is very much a 1980s film—the outfits, the haircuts, etc.  I imagine Australia is one of those countries that is like Idaho:  it’s ten years behind the United States in terms of fashion and pop culture, but it’s still on the same trajectory.  I might be completely wrong about that, but that is the sense I got watching this flick.

Regardless, Coda is an enjoyable little thriller.  It opens with a women being murdered—gasp!—and a goofy passer-by—the lead character’s ex-husband—is framed up for the job when he attempts to offer the dying woman aid.  No good deed goes unpunished, it seems, and the female police detective is convinced the ex-husband is the culprit.  Surprisingly, the ex-wife/lead protagonist doesn’t believe her bumbling ex-husband could be the culprit and begins her own investigation.

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PRISM Out Today!

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My new album, PRISM, is out today, Friday, 7 February 2025. Use promo code “photon” to get 20% off this release, my biggest and longest to date!

PRISM follows the journey of a single photon through the spectrum of light, flashing from darkness through the dazzling light and color of the rainbow.

The entire album clocks in at fifty minutes, and features my longest composition to date, the title track, “PRISM.” It also comes packed with bonus material, including the following:

  • Full PDF scores of each piece!
  • Unique artwork!
  • Original, handwritten manuscript scores!
  • Original music videos for nine of the eleven tracks!

PRISM is a conceptual musical journey that encourages deep, meditative listening. It also makes for good background music if that’s more your speed.

PRISM is available on the following platforms:

Remember, use promo code “photon” for 20% off!

Happy Listening!

TBT^4: Composing Humorous Miniatures

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My next album, PRISM, releases tomorrow, so I thought I’d look back at a post about the bit of online frivolity that, in many ways, kickstarted the massive amount of composing I’ve undertaken over the last year.

I never did get around to writing those flute pieces for that one guy (see below), but I’m not too worried about it.  I imagine one day I’ll get some more requests to compose some pieces, and I have quite a back catalogue from which to pull and adapt ideas.

With that, here is 29 February 2024’s “TBT^2: Composing Humorous Miniatures“:

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TBT^256: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony

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My love for programmatic music, especially music that depicts the glory of God’s Creation, is as strong as ever.  Indeed, I am currently working on an album that will be my own attempt at something akin to Camille Saint-Saëns‘ The Carnival of the Animals.  One day, I’ll have to write a post about that piece.

Regardless, it’s time once again to take my annual look back at one of Beethoven’s symphonies, and my personal favorite.

With that, here is 25 January 2024’s “TBT^16: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony“:

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TBT^4: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau”

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It’s been several years now since I last taught the fun but short-lived Pre-AP Music Appreciation course that spawned some of these pieces highlighting classical and Romantic musical works, but I still love the musical selections dearly. Bedřich Smetana’s The Moldau still captures my imagination, and I still have not composed anything that comes remotely close to its beauty and genius.

Nevertheless, I routinely cite Smetana as an influence, especially when uploading my pieces to CD Baby for digital distribution.  He almost always gets a mention in the “artists like” categories I fill out for each release.  Hopefully he’s not spinning in his grave at the thought of that.

With that, here is 11 January 2024’s “TBT^2: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s ‘The Moldau'”:

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Open Mic Adventures CXI: “Blue Field”

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Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III!  Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp!  Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

Hard to believe that it’s the last day of 2024!  Instead of a retrospective, though, I’m looking ahead to a new album, one that I’ll release at some point in 2025.

To celebrate the new year, I’m featuring the first track from that planned album, “Blue Field”:

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