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Hello dear composers!

I posted a waltz a few weeks ago (again thank you all for your comments) and my teacher asked me to take just the first part of the waltz, and write some variations of it, and so I did. I would like to have your opinion about some of these variations. The ordrer is important, it goes from the closest to the theme to the farest.

Many thanks in adavance for your comments, criticism, suggestions...



Thema : http://www.box.net/shared/c878v6rdi2

Variation I : http://www.box.net/shared/sbru0k76l7

variation III : http://www.box.net/shared/czxmk0lv4r

Variation IV : http://www.box.net/shared/bc0fg902yg

Hi Ilia,

It's late and I've listened to your theme and variations once. It's hard to listen when you've got each variation recorded as a separate piece. I think you'd have more luck if you posted your score and recorded the entire piece as one file and posted it. Good luck.

Hi Steve,

Here is the piece recorded as one file. Thanks!

http://www.box.net/shared/4vv10ugp9i

Ilia,

I'm traveling so listening is a bit of a problem. I'll get to it after Christmas.

No problem, Steve. Thanks for your interest!

Hearing them as a unit does make a difference. It holds together better than I would have thought based on listening to them separately. That's a good thing. I also presume these are unfinished because 3 variations is just getting started. Also finishing on a slow variation would go against the grain of the usual dramatic structure.

Which brings me to an important point. Variations form is a great exercise in dramatic structure. Every composer finds his or her own way of defining what that means and every set of variations will develop in its own way, but there must be an overall dramatic structure. The variations form is perfectly suited to provide budding composers with a framework to experiment with dramatic structure issues.

So what does that mean with this set of variations. Ilia has a theme that's quirky, but workable. So the questions that come to my mind are will he stay in waltz time or break away from 3/4? How far will he be willing to stray from this theme? I've written that variations form is also where a composer's creative side really gets developed. The first 3 to 5 variations are easy. Once the obvious ideas are dispatched then what? Then the composer has to get creative, so Ilia I challenge you to compose at least 9 more variations. This challenge will make you think outside the box, it will be a fantastic exercise of your creative muscles.

Good luck and have fun!

Steve, I understand your points, and I take the challenge I will try to do my best.