# My first symphony



## AndreasvanHaren

Hello,

I have put my first symphony on my website. Is has four movements, you can listen to the music and read the score while listening. Have a look here:

http://www.andrevanharen.com/firstsymphony.htm

best wishes,
André


----------



## PostMinimalist

Well done! I listened to most of the symphony but you need to get a more serious set of samples especially for the strings. I hope last nights concert in Seattle went well! Can you give a link to the octave chamber orchestra please!
FC


----------



## AndreasvanHaren

Hi FC!
i kbnow, my instruments aren't so good but it's the only thing I can afford at the moment.

Here is the link to the orchestra:

http://www.octavachamberorchestra.com/index.html

best wishes,
André


----------



## PostMinimalist

Thanks for the link. 
I use logic for midi realizations with a mixture of Vienna Symphonic Library and Vitous samples. I spend a lot of time 'tweaking' each individual part until it sounds like it might be played by a human being. you can hear some of my compositions 'realized' in this way here
Fergus Currie - Reverbnation profile 
This is music that I wrote for a video game last year.


----------



## AndreasvanHaren

I make all my recordings with Garageband and the Jam packs on my mac, for some of the sounds that I really don't like I use soundfonts that I found on the web. I am sometimes surprised still how good it sounds by just adding some reverb to it.


----------



## AndreasvanHaren

post-minimalist said:


> Thanks for the link.
> I use logic for midi realizations with a mixture of Vienna Symphonic Library and Vitous samples. I spend a lot of time 'tweaking' each individual part until it sounds like it might be played by a human being. you can hear some of my compositions 'realized' in this way here
> Fergus Currie - Reverbnation profile
> This is music that I wrote for a video game last year.


I listened to some of your songs and I agree that it sounds great, I like the harp; very smooth... Would be nice to have that sound library, but i have to wait some more time before I can afford it. And I'm not sure if my mac can pull it, must cost lot's of ram and processor time. I have a Powerpc mac, G5 with 2.5 GB ram


----------



## PostMinimalist

That's exactly what I use - G5 Mac with 2.5GB RAM!
Logic pro is very memory efficient and handles EX24 samples really neatly. I have 'looped' my midi thru system so that when I playback in Finale it runs the samples from Logic! You must remember to unplug this if you're going to record 'real time' into Logic using midi or you end up with a continuous loop of what your playing rather like feed-back through a microphone! Don't let me Hi jack this thread! It was very nice to hear a composer who is willing to write for a 'classical' orchestra set up in a very tonal manner. In places (especially the 1st mvt.) I was reminded of Prokofiev's 'Classical Symphony' and a little bit of Ibert's 'Divertimento'. I remember getting criticized at the 1988 Glasgow Music Festival Composers Competition for being to conservative and not 'modulating' enough (I was a bit upset) but I would like to suggest the same to you. While rhythmically and melodically very bright I would like to have seen a more harmonically adventurous development of the themes. This does not belittle your achievement in any way but as a teacher of composition I always tell my students not to 'correct' their works but to put these new ideas into the next piece they write. I see that you have been making alterations and additions to this work for a while but now it's time to let it go with a life of it's own! Again, well done! It takes a lot of work to get something like that up and running!
Cheers
F


----------



## AndreasvanHaren

Thanks, I know that I am very tonal in it still, but am sure that my next one will be very different, although probably still very romantic. My first and second piano sonata are very different also although I wrote them close after each other last year. A symphony takes more time to complete and change in style goes slower.

My sonatas btw are here:
nr. 1 http://www.andrevanharen.com/pianosonatano1.htm
nr. 2 http://www.andrevanharen.com/pianosonatano2.htm

André


----------



## Krummhorn

André

First rate, as always ... particularly enjoyed the "playfulness" of the 3rd & 4th movements. 

This symphony represents lots of work on your part ... very enjoyable music.

Any word (or reviews) on the Seattle premier performance of your work on May 18th?


----------



## AndreasvanHaren

Yes, I got an email that the concert went well. The recording will be placed on their website soon and I will put a link to it here. Of course, I will put my string piece also on my own site. I'm very curious myself to hear it!

André


----------



## MJTTOMB

Kudos on even finishing one. Even if I ever have the compositional chops to finish one, I doubt I'll ever have the attention span.


----------



## PostMinimalist

I found an mp3 of your string piece here: After Work, Late At Night
It sounds great. Hints of Elgar and Greig in there!
Nicely written and played!
Well done.
F


----------



## Elaryad

André your work is great. I listened to some of your music and the symphony. First symphony, you say? Wow! Keep up your good work!

By the way, do you know any webpage with a database or something about new classical composers? I think there's so many great people composing great music out there and we don't have a clue.


----------

