2 atonal improvisations

[reaper978]

Hello,

The first titled "Modern Improv" is in my opinion the best I have recorded as of yet.  The second one is another journey into atonality which I have done earlier.

-Colin

[ted]

The "Modern Improv" actually contains considerable structure, some of which emerges organically from the various piano textures used, in particular the descending chromatic run. The four most prominent of these textures are the cluster, the glissando, the oscillation, the repeated note and the chromatic scale figure, usually descending. From around 9:33, a chromatic scale figure gives rise to an insistent four note motif and answer, which permeate the piece as a germinal force through to the conclusion.

I found its form static rather than dynamic but hasten to add that this adjective describes an objective and nominal reaction and is in no way correlated with quality one way or the other. Put it this way, it is more like the landscape itself rather than the act of wandering through it or exploring it. It is music you can turn over in your mind as an abstract object and see as a whole. The trick with this type of music is to listen in like fashion, which process requires the cultivation of an entirely different mental state to that of abandoning ourselves to dynamic trance.

From the standpoint of actual playing, I found the finger work and general articulation to be particularly clear. 

[reaper978]

Thank you very much for the critique.  I'm glad someone sees it as more than "mere noise" as it has been criticized for in the past.

From the standpoint of actual playing, I found the finger work and general articulation to be particularly clear.

You are not the first to mention this, and I am very pleased that I have made such strides with my clarity and technique.  Is there anything in particular that causes you to make such a mention about my work?

Thanks again.

[bernstein]

I'm surprised 'Modern Improv' has been dismissed as 'mere noise'.  I found it highly musical, very clear, and often deeply moving.  I don't have the musical vocabulary to give you a critique as detailed as ted's fine text, but I wanted to let you know that your improv gave me a delightful thirteen minutes.

Drew Bernstein