Ron's Talking's Compositions

Started by Rons_talking, June 04, 2017, 01:31:25 PM

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Mirror Image

Ron, I don't know much about your music nor your compositional history, but who would you say are some of your main influences?

Rons_talking

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 03, 2017, 09:42:39 AM
Ron, I don't know much about your music nor your compositional history, but who would you say are some of your main influences?

Thanks for asking. My father was a jazz musician and later did TV and film composing (1960s-80s) so his was the first direct influence. I studied with Peter Racine Fricker as an undergrad, and did grad work with some talented east-coasters who were serially inclined. To answer you question, I'd say Copland, Sessions, Hindemith and Rautavaara are the first composers that come to mind. Of course there are so many...

Rons_talking

Today, I composed two more of my short works for clarinet and piano as well as altering the Symphonic Ode. I have enjoyed touching up the Ode because it is inspired by two past teachers; George Tremblay, who taught me how to write a looser form of serialism that pops up in this work, and Peter Racine Fricker, whose "invisible ostinato" technique I make frequent use of.

Here's the latest:
https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/ode


I'll post the five clarinet pieces tonight.

Rons_talking

As promised, here are the 5 short pieces for clar. and pno. They were fun to write (except the 5th).

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/five-brief-works-for-clarinet

ComposerOfAvantGarde

I love the quirky nature of this music but my favourite is the slightly more serious fourth piece. They all certainly sound like fun for the clarinet. Are there any performances planned?

Karl Henning

Quote from: Rons_talking on December 06, 2017, 06:17:58 PM
As promised, here are the 5 short pieces for clar. and pno. They were fun to write (except the 5th).

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/five-brief-works-for-clarinet

It may be Sunday evening before I can give these the attention they deserve  :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Rons_talking

Last week, I put the 8th chamber symphony on soundcloud (I'm editing it now) and to my bafflement, the third mov. (7 minutes) was played dozens of times per hour for around 24 hours...then nothing (mostly in China).  I'm a realist, so I feel pretty certain that it became some kind of attachment or was part of some crazy ap. that ran up the total plays. But I'd like to think that some listener heard it and saw the light!, mailing it everywhere music can go ;) and that now I have a Chinese fan club, but nah....not too likely. Anyway, here's the latest version of the 8th; it has a concertante violin and piano and is all strings.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/sinfonia-8-for-strings-and

Rons_talking

#87
In the process of composing my 5th string quartet. Here are the first two movements as of now. While wild at times, it is tonally derived. The 2nd movement is lyrical while the 1st is a rapid romp.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/string-quartet-5

Also, here is a revised version of sinfonia 8 (with solo violin and piano).

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/asinfonia-10?in=ronald-roumanis/sets/sinfonia-8-for-strings-and

Karl Henning

Carry on! After this weekend's concerts, I should be able to catch up . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Rons_talking

Quote from: jessop on December 06, 2017, 08:24:56 PM
I love the quirky nature of this music but my favourite is the slightly more serious fourth piece. They all certainly sound like fun for the clarinet. Are there any performances planned?

Good question. Right now, I don't live near any of the performers I know (I'm temporarily living in a remote town in Ontario), but will be settling in Toronto soon and will seek performances then. Thanks for listening ;D.

Rons_talking

#90
12-19 I'm wrapping up a string quartet and tightening up my 8th chamber symphony. The symphony is a good combination of my sweet and sour sides converging.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/sinfonia-8-for-strings-and


Also, I've been touching up two works from last year ; they are for wind quartet and piano and are quite ironic in nature: Senior Living, comprised of "The Gaggle" and "Bingo night." Visits to my mom's 55+ (but most are 75+) development inspired the works. I hope you listen...

Add...I just finished the 3rd movement of my 5th SQ...Crazy 3rd.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/string-quartet-5

Rons_talking

#91
I have been revising some piano music. Night is a group of four preludes: Sunday Night, Starlight, Midnight Snack, and A Dream.

They were composed the week of Solstice 2016.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/night-four-preludes

New stuff! I'm working on the 18th P Sonata...here's the 1st mov.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/piano-sonata-18-opus-122

Karl Henning

Quote from: Rons_talking on December 28, 2017, 08:50:56 AM
I have been revising some piano music. Night is a group of four preludes: Sunday Night, Starlight, Midnight Snack, and A Dream.

They were composed the week of Solstice 2016.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/night-four-preludes

Lovely.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Rons_talking

#93
I've completed the first movement of my latest sonata for piano...here's the score as well as the audio.
https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/piano-sonata-18-opus-122

I've also got a draft of the slow movement (2nd) on soundcloud. We'll see if I like it in a day or two...

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/bsonata-20?in=ronald-roumanis/sets/piano-sonata-18-opus-122

Rons_talking

I've completed my 18th piano sonata, which I call the "Cycling" sonata because it has perpetual motion in the third movement as well as ample use of pedal tones (it's not a pun on "pedal", rather the sound is sometimes the kind of hum one hears while riding). Initially I disliked the slow movement and was going to shelve it, but now, 4 days later, I've changed a few things in the theme and find it satisfactory. It's odd; the people I want to hear these works are music lovers but not necessarily composers, but they seldom click on the composer's page. Since I'm temporarily living in a somewhat remote town in Ontario there are few live musicians in the area so all musical correspondences are on line....but this will change. Knowing there is no immanent performance saves me editing time and frees me to compose for any ensemble...of course arranging a performance can be tricky but I'll worry about that once I land somewhere.       Here's the sonata

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/piano-sonata-18-opus-122

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Rons_talking on January 12, 2018, 02:14:54 PM
I've completed my 18th piano sonata, which I call the "Cycling" sonata because it has perpetual motion in the third movement as well as ample use of pedal tones (it's not a pun on "pedal", rather the sound is sometimes the kind of hum one hears while riding). Initially I disliked the slow movement and was going to shelve it, but now, 4 days later, I've changed a few things in the theme and find it satisfactory. It's odd; the people I want to hear these works are music lovers but not necessarily composers, but they seldom click on the composer's page. Since I'm temporarily living in a somewhat remote town in Ontario there are few live musicians in the area so all musical correspondences are on line....but this will change. Knowing there is no immanent performance saves me editing time and frees me to compose for any ensemble...of course arranging a performance can be tricky but I'll worry about that once I land somewhere.       Here's the sonata

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/piano-sonata-18-opus-122

Well I sure hope more people get the opportunity to hear your music.  I think piano music must be especially difficult to get performances of, considering the amount of time piano students tend to put towards learning 19th century repertoire and some Bach and Mozart. How have you approached this situation in the past?

And BTW, do you know much of Carl Vine's piano music? Just that I think on the surface many of the harmonies sound somewhat similar.

Rons_talking

I've composed very little for  flute alone. When I have, I've made it very robust and jarring. I suppose it's the fear of writing too "feminine" in mood. I've started a set of five. Here's No. 1

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/aflute-op-123?in=ronald-roumanis/sets/5-pieces-for-flute-and-piano

Karl Henning

Quote from: Rons_talking on January 12, 2018, 09:05:35 PM
I've composed very little for  flute alone. When I have, I've made it very robust and jarring. I suppose it's the fear of writing too "feminine" in mood.

I think that is entirely the right idea.  Not that there is anything 'wrong' with flute solo "feminine" in mood;  only there is so much of it about already . . . one does want to create a distinct utterance.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Rons_talking

I'm posting the 9th "Primitive" sinfonia for the first time. Not to be mistaken for the Jungle Symphony, this is in three movements. It sounds as it is named (sometimes) and is more dynamic than most of my works.

https://soundcloud.com/ronald-roumanis/sets/sinfonia-9-primitive

Rons_talking

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on January 13, 2018, 07:04:23 AM
I think that is entirely the right idea.  Not that there is anything 'wrong' with flute solo "feminine" in mood;  only there is so much of it about already . . . one does want to create a distinct utterance.

So true. The music needs a little hair.