Euphonic Studio Schedule

Works in session

These are pieces that are currently being recorded.  I will place links to samples as they become available.  Completed works that are in the public domain will be linked on a separate page; my own original compositions will not be available for download in entirety.

1.  Rhapsody in G Minor, Op. 79, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms

This is one of my favorite piano works by Brahms.  The piece has some interesting technical challenges, such as Brahms' penchant for chords that encompass an octave in parallel figures and some two against three rhythms.  It's also crammed full of dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythms that many pianists tend to allow themselves played in more of triplet rhythm.  Don't be one of them!

I would classify the interpretation of this piece to be as hard or harder than the technical part.  I've heard a couple of recordings of it and they are wildly diverse.  They're both different than how I play it, too.  The tempo marking is Molto passionato, ma non troppo allegro (with much passion, but not too fast).  Some pianists equate "fast" with "good", but I've never thought it was a race.  I play it at an appropriate tempo, in my mind, rather than as fast as I can play it.

2.  Sonata IV in D major for Violin and Piano by G. F. Handel

This is one of a group of six violin sonatas that Handel wrote in the 1720s to 1730s.  There has been some scholarly haggling about the authenticity of these as Handel works, but this particular one still has the original manuscript.

All of these follow the Italian sonata form of four movements in slow-fast-slow-fast order.  This piece's opening Adagio movement got my attention right away because of an unusual trick Handel played on us.  The piece is in D major, and the violin's first three notes begin rather uneventfully as D-F#-A, the D major chord in root position.  But duck, here comes the duster... Handel has the violin playing an E for the fourth note, effectively creating a D9 chord to open the piece.  LOL!  That must have set some tongues wagging in the early 18th century!

The piece is a wonderful work of medium technical complexity.  The last movement is very joyous and it tends to leave people in a good mood.  I've performed it in church and at two weddings, including my own (via tape).

3. Say Something by Michael Omartian

This is a funky piece that features the Hammond organ.  I'm working out the horn arrangements.  It's all just about time, isn't it?

4.  Non lo diro col Labbro by George Frederic Handel

The lyric for this art song was written by Nicola Francesco Haym based on a text by Carlo Sigismondo Capece.  Handel set it to music and it is also known as Allessandro's Cavatino from Act I of the opera Ptolemy.  The piece was also arranged and rewritten in English by Sir Arthur Somervell under the title Silent Worship.

This was brought in by one of my piano students, Scott, who is a senior in high school and will be a music major in college (vocal) next fall.  We did a brief rehearsal on 12/8.

Scott and I have agreed to re-record this after having gained some more experience with recording the piano and have gotten it back up to speed.  Right now he's gotten himself off on a Radiohead tangent, but we'll get back to it in a bit.

5.  Soundscape and incidental music for theater production of "Cloud Nine" - original music and arrangement

UPDATE:  this work was finished and turned out to be a winner, as Sam aced the course.

I'm working with Cornell College theater student Sam Stevens to record his work for a theatrical production of Caryl Churchill's 1979 parody of British society in two acts.

Theater and film students... I really enjoy this kind of work and will be happy to assist you in creating a soundtrack or score for your work.  Euphonic is ready to orchestrate your project in pretty much any genre you require. 

Near completion

1. The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) by Betty Everett

This is the classic song originally recorded in spring of 1964 by Betty Everett.  Since then it's been recorded by many others including Cher, and now my granddaughter Katie.

Katie has a lot of natural talent and has gotten herself involved with some people who can help her develop it.   Being her grandfather, I might be a tad less objective, but I think she's doing a great job and I am looking forward to having her come back to do some covers for me of some of my favorite artists.  We're working on One Girl Revolution next, by popular demand.

Just did a new remix... I took the vocals out of the tank, redid the guitar track, and added a Hammond track.  Shoop Shoop Song

In my practice rotation

1.  Toccata (1932) by Aram Khachaturian

"Toccata" is Italian for "touch" and usually refers to a piece that emphasizes dexterity.  My edition of this piece is marked at MM 120, which puts its blistering sixteenth note passages into the knuckle-buster category.

I have watched a couple of performances of this on YouTube, and have this advice to offer future performers of this work.  Read the music.  Starting at measure 9, each group of 16th notes in the right hand starts out with a quarter note that you should hold for an entire count.  Yeah, I know it's hard, but do you want to play it the easy way or what Khachaturian wrote?  Also, watch the accents.

Another comment... it seems that a lot of piano instructors must be telling their students that in order to "interpret" a piece of music, you ought to take wild liberties with the tempos.  I'm referring to what, in my opinion, is excessive use of rubato that probably makes you look like you're really in charge but destroys the rhythmic sense of the piece.  I'd rather see you waving your arms around like some pianists like to do than slicing and dicing the tempo like a Veg-O-Matic.

One more thing, if you're going to play this piece, please take time to aim before you throw a punch at those 8va triplets in the Vivace con brio section... and miss.  Both YouTube performers I saw missed a fistful of those.  Hey, I feel your pain, I miss them too, which is why I PRACTICE.  When I can play them, then I'll record it. 

In the queue...

My queue has gotten clogged at the moment by video projects.  The last thing I want my music students to do is come up with excuses not to practice.... but when you get as severely overbooked as I have been with three video projects (one of them, thankfully, is finished) it happens.  Welcome to the world of music.  If we have to fight and scrape to find time to practice, we're overbooked and that's just a fact!!!

Brave New World  I'm still writing on this original composition.  The first movement needs some expanding material.  The second half of the final movement is more or less completed but it's too short so I'm going to have to do some more work on it.  I have some ideas for a middle movement (or movements) along the industrial line, but haven't got past the sketch phase.

The original version of the first movement, named Community, Identity, Stability was sketched and recorded using my Premier drums, a Juno-106, and a Tascam 244 in my Minneapolis studio in 1980.  Here's what it sounded like then....  stay tuned for the updates.  I do plan to retain the analog synth feel.  It will probably gain a bit of length, and the middle section I'm working on over my morning coffee will break the rhythm of the piece entirely and is likely to feature dual thematic material played on the Juno and my Hammond which will be tied into the middle movement.  Enjoy, but remember, it's copyrighted material so please don't try to sell it to anyone.

Community Identity Stability  

Rhapsody in Eb by Brahms.  I love this piece.  It's got great big crashing chords, very rich.  Some nice effects in it.  I made a note on the title page of the piece to "Smile when you practice this".  Not because it's a smiley kind of piece, but to try to keep from grimacing .

Children's Corner Suite by Claude Debussy.  I've never worked on these, but I have a recording of them and I've always liked just about everything by Debussy.