Tag Archives: concert music

Video – Hamlet Symphony IV

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Since today is a special day, I had to post another movement of my Hamlet Symphony.  This is the Fourth Movement – Remembering Ophelia.

(Click here if you don’t see the video)

This movement is in some ways the most beautiful, the most sad, the most delicate, the most simple, the most complicated the… well, you get the idea, there are a lot of contradictions.  It is by far my favorite.  It doesn’t end here, but goes right into the fifth movement, so the ending is abrupt.  Anyway, here is what I wrote about it as I was actually composing the music (I worte most of the below before i wrote the music and then corrected i to fit the music after I was done) ::

– Continue reading →

A Smile a Day – Day 15 – Beethoven

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Beethoven

When I started my deep study of music I had CDs from over a dozen different 20th century composers.  I had over a dozen CDs by JS Bach.  I had over a dozen CDs from Medieval and Renaissance time periods.  I had zero, none, not a single Beethoven CD.  In the rock world in which I grew up Beethoven was the greatest villain.  That’s really odd because he was a rebel in so many ways.  He lived the rock and roll spirit in so many ways.

I did several deep study’s of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.  The last time I spent months going over his string quartets one note at a time.  I poured over the scores to the symphonies.  I ate the piano sonatas for breakfast.  I went out and tried to find ever last scrap of music he created, published, or like many, never published in his life time.  There is no doubt he was the greatest master of all times, even beating out my favorite, Bach.  Continue reading →

The Hamlet Symphony

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(Click here if you don’t see the video)

In my life I’ve done a few things I’m proud of.  For example, I’ve written two books.  The first of these books has undergone extensive revision.  And yet, in my mind these two books combined pale in comparison to the accomplishment of the Hamlet Symphony.  From the first note to the last, every part of this hour long symphony, from notes to phrases to themes to sections to entire movements, interrelate and work together to form a cohesive whole.  A note in the third movement is impossible with one from the second.

As many of you know, I decided to release the symphony back in February.  All I’ll say is that although The Hamlet Symphony may be the culmination of my musical life, it is definitely not my most successful achievement!  The Hamlet Symphony is available on iTunes and Amazon.  It’s also available on CD Baby. Try here for Amazon UK.

The Hamlet Symphony is a companion to the famous play and portrays a little of its complexity in music. There are a few scenes set to music, but this isn’t a straight forward soundtrack, being meant more as a reflection on the characters and the action. In some ways The Hamlet Symphony is the emotional reaction one might have while reading or seeing the play. Continue reading →