Mark Walsen - Two Piano Apple Pie

[Mark W]

Hello Adrian and MG,

I imagine to get the maximum rhythmic effect both parts need to be spot on the beat, and as you confess, this is the only thing that is holding back the realization.

Yes, this recording is severely lacking in rhythmic cripsness. I'll try recording it again soon. I might even use a metronome light when recording the first page of the first part, which has some long rests that are very difficult for me to count perfectly without reference to the second piano playing.

Also, I'm going to place the mics close to the piano sounding board as I did for the other recordings (Parallel Intervals and Children's Suite). This Apple Pie recording is way too wet, by my taste.

MG, it's quite understandable to me that for a given listener, some of my pieces will have radically different appeal (and lack thereof) from others. I mess around with different music styles, some of which are not even familiar to me. I don't even know where the style of Apple Pie comes from. I don't know what piece by another composer might be similar to it. It happens to be one of my 19 year old son David's favorite pieces I've written. I even caught him sitting down, listening outside my piano room as I was doing takes.

It's definitely true, this piece ends very abrubtly. The piece tries to offer clues that it is preparing to end, especially with the several repetitions of motives in the last several bars, almost like a repetitive fade out at the end of a piece, but without a decrescendo. The abrupt end is sort a slap in the face, and a final concise statement of the whole piece's main motive, which is a just a bar of 8th notes:

ApplePieLastMeasure.JPG

Cheers
--Mark