Modern Piano Pieces

[Chris Gibbs]

Hi,

I've written a series of modern/classical piano pieces and was looking for some feedback from fellow composers. I'm also wondering if you think this music could be used in film or TV (or something else?) and if so what would be a good way to get started? I'm currently based in Bath, United Kingdom.

Thanks,

Chris

[Chris Gibbs]

Hi Anne,

Thank you for your kind words - I agree about the pieces being suitable for evening music. They are mostly played live using the wonderful Pianoteq software, and tweaked slightly in Cubase.

Best Regards,

Chris

P.S. I like "Words of Reverence", good work!

[Jack Pickett]

Good work Chris!!

Don't know what else to say to be honest - though I have had these pieces on whilst I zap off a couple of emails and it has reminded me of a whole host of composers here and there - debussey, chopin, schumman - and some modern composers too.

I would like to hear these recorded on a better piano though I have to admit! Are they midi files?

[Chris Gibbs]

Thanks - yeah the pieces are midi files, but the performances are tailored to customised Pianoteq presets, i.e. changing the piano sound significantly would probably require a brand new performance of the piece.

However, I would be interested to hear a top-class pianist do an interpretation of these pieces on a real acoustic piano - my technique is decent but probably not to the level I'd like to be in order to do performances which do justice to the pieces, hence I prefer to use midi and tweak the pieces slightly. I've also tried quite a few piano libraries (sampled and non-sampled) and Pianoteq is the most realistic I've found so far.

[Emmanuelle Fonsny]

Hi Chris,

beautiful pieces! I'd say they are even too beautiful for TV! You'd be better off trying out for films!
The recording do sound pretty good to me (compared to my crappy Finale piano sound!).
Well done, all the best

Manu

[Adrian Allan]

I had a listen to the first two pieces and I have to say that they are very good and better than most pieces that are posted here.

You write very naturally and the key changes are fluent. I can tell that you have studied the great piano composers and don't simply write predictable film cliches.

I particularly liked the tonality of the 2nd piece and the exotic harmonies where the music is 2 against 3. Reminded me of the Spanish composers Granados and Albeniz.

If you submitted these pieces the only crticism would be that there are perhaps just too many ideas, and developing one of the ideas more fully would lead to a more coherent whole - but classical style development is a skill that is learnt over many years.

[Chris Gibbs]

Thank you for the feedback - interesting the comparisons with Granados/Albeniz as I'm relatively unfamiliar with their work so any similarities may be coincidental, although I will have a listen to their music as I'm always on the lookout for new influences :)