Prokofiev - Sarcasms, Opus 17 @allarmunumralla

Uploaded April 2016 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago

Prokofiev - Sarcasms, Opus 17

A collection of 5 short pieces written between 1912 and 1914, near and dear to the hearts of all of us who like our music spiky and strange.

The pieces are:
1. Tempestoso "stormy"
2. Allegro rubato (2:06)
3. Allegro precipitato (3:38), "rushing"
4. Smanioso (5:26) "eager"
5. Precipitosissimo (8:06) "really rushing"

Created, edited and mastered in Digital Performer 5.13 (MOTU) using Ivory sound banks (Synthogy)

I need to thank Dario Aiello and Paul Vinonaama in particular for pointing out the wrong notes, and for everyone who commented on my over use of reverb.

$Xenakis evryali Iannis Xenakis, the master of pre-composition, wrote everyali, his second (mature) work for solo piano in 1973 and dedicated it to pianist Marie-Francoise Bucquet. The material is laid out on a grid of 16th notes (except for the 32nd note episodes near the beginning). The Wikipedia article describes the compositional techniques in terms of generative contour, stochastic clouds, and polyphonic arborescences. This may well be, but to my eyes it looks very much like a kind of fractal called a Bifurcation Plot (Pickover), the generating equation being x = Lambda*x*(1+x)**(-beta), highly magnified. This is made clear in the two graphic examples Ive appended to the performance. Many of Xenakiss works may only be approached by a human performer, impossible to completely master (I know, Ive tried). This is where midi shows its real strengths. That being said, you cannot simply enter the notes and set the clock ticking; the results would be highly unsatisfactory, like monkeys on a keyboard. Much balancing, de-quantizing and tempo fluctuations later and we have our realization. This was one of my first projects in midi, and all these years later, I have something Im satisfied to share with you. I found the score (which is still under copyright) at http://classicscore.hut2.ru/ Created, edited and mastered in Digital Performer 5.13 originally in DP 2.x (MOTU) using Ivory Italian Grand sound banks (Synthogy)$

Anton Webern Four Pieces for violin and piano, op. 7

Debussy - Les fées sont dexquises danseuses