Beautiful, bright-sounding entry!

I very much like the seemingly simple effectiveness of everything. You don’t need messy workarounds, everything is quite spot-on and straightforward. Ready for the stands I’d say, very well done. Very good interpretation of section B, it’s all perfectly playable, while retaining the sense of motion and development of the original. Congratulations on one of the strongest entries I’ve seen so far!

Nicely done!

Thank you Thomas for such detailed comments. This is actually my first real attempt in orchestration, having some experience in arranging music for chamber groups. There is so much to learn during this process, especially in adding markings and string bowings (I'm a wind player). There are some issues that I would like to respond or discuss. 1. Although I started the actual work in late August, I'd been thinking of the choice between F and G major since the announcement of the challenge, and running the piece in mind and playing it out in F, F# and G majors. I finally chose G as I think it would be slightly lighter, livelier and less grandiose. But I understand that such impressions are very subjective and uncertain. 2. For the first chord in bar 11, Beethoven's piano score only has a B in the bass and a descending line from C# on the right hand. I interpreted it as a V42 chord when I was working on it, and I thought that a predominant IV chord felt a bit strange, but I'm not quite sure about it now. 3a. During the working process, I was a bit worried that the wind texture might be too thick in the middle of section B. Would anyone have some comments about this? b. Regarding the slurs in the flute and clarinet, I actually did it intentionally to lay some tension from the upbeat to the downbeat, and to let the two groups of slurs interlock with each other, and also the phrasing just feels more natural. 4. In bars 24-26, my original intention was to let every part to stay in its own register while adding lower voices. I wonder if there would be better ways of adding lower strings gradually without messing up the inversion of the chord. Also, if the Vn.2 play 2 bows per beat, would it be better for the firsts to also play an up bow on each upbeat? 5. My last worry is about the use of trumpets. It seems to me that there won't be many chances for the trumpets to play in this movement, but I also feel that they are necessary at some points. I don't want to replace them with two more horns since Beethoven didn't often use 4 horns and no trumpets. I originally wanted to orchestrate this piece entirely in the style of Beethoven, but some ideas started to get away from that tradition. Thank you everyone for your comments. I'll try to complete the whole sonata (or at least the first movement) in December and might post it in the Facebook group.

@peterbouma3943

7 ай бұрын

Edwin, not only your impressive score, but also your comments show you think as an orchestrator. If this is really your first attempt at (symphonic) orchestration, then we'll definitely hear more from you. Keep up the good work!

Nice work Edwin. A good solution to the figuration problems starting 2 bars after B. I felt there were some places where the general pitch of the group was too high (not enough strength in the bass): - 4&3 bars before C, and 6&7 bars after. Dropping the 2nd bassoon down an octave or using low Horn might help here? [In the introduction, the strings do this well.] I liked the various woodwind trade-offs after C [quasi klangfarbenmelodie?] - particularly the flute entry - and in the leggiermente section. Well done.

Edwin: There is so much to love here. Some lovely colours and delicate textures. But this is a work of lace embroidery, where Beethoven would create a many layered quilt. Where one would expect the texture to get heavier as the drama builds, this work seems to softly sway like a light gauze curtain in a gentle breeze. When one expects a passionate ‘tutti’, the violas, cellos and basses are silent. I’ve not often advocated for a ‘less is more’ approach (which is fault of mine, for sure), but sometimes less is just not enough. Give us more! One of the most useful techniques of orchestration is to make the music louder and stronger - not by increasing the dynamic markings, but by adding more players into the mix until the music hall is vibrating with dramatic tension! Having said that, you have devised some ingenious orchestral solutions out of the most stubbornly pianistic passages - lovely string writing and bold woodwind colours deftly woven together. It is beautiful embroidery. But you might need to call an ambulance for the bassoon players by the end of the exposition. That three-bar slur! The poor creatures need to breathe! 😊

@edwinkwong8587

7 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comments. When I worked on the orchestration, I was trying to imitate Beethoven's style, but gradually found out that this might not work for me as well as I expected. Having departed from that approach, there will be more room to add more supporting parts in my revision.

Excellent orchestration. I thought section A was especially well-scored! I think the buildup to the tutti just before C (starting 4 before C at the piano dynamic) could benefit from some staggered entrances from some of the instruments, so that the weight and density of the texture increases with the dynamics. This should make the crescendo more effective as currently it's a bit static and abrupt.

@edwinkwong8587

7 ай бұрын

Thank you! The lower strings entrance before C may really be too abrupt. But I'm still wondering how I can make the staggered entrances smooth and natural, since I would prefer adding new voices for new roles rather than moving them around. I don't want the parts to jump suddenly from one role to another through a wide interval. I also wish to keep the original chord inversions and a balanced voicing, but there are really a lot of constraints.

EDWIN KWONG: I really enjoyed your arrangement! Too bad we couldn't hear MORE!

This one is exactly like mine but better lol

Hi, I am from India. I want to ask, Do you have any orchestration course for absolute beginners?