COMPOSITION SCORE COMMENTS                                    
CLASSICAL & ORCH.                                        
N.C.F. Theme 8.50 Really well done!  The segments are well integrated and the instrumentation is excellent.  I was surprized at how short the piece was, but for quality of composition it demonstrates great potential.  I'm certain that with a little more effort this will be one worth remembering.                                      
Camelot 2   My own.  I have never written anything better, and I probably never will.                                    
NN 6.00 The drama of the introduction and the wonderful build disguise the fact that the chord progression is the same four chords throughout.  The ending was interesting, but abrupt.                                      
Piano Concert 1 in C, mov 1 7.00 There are some really interesting sections, and some that don't carry much weight.  Of course, it's all opinion, but it just seems like there are parts that don't belong in the total piece.  The composer recovers well, however, and in the end, it's a really nice concerto.  I would work on the end a little bit, however.                                      
My Clair de Lune 8.50 Absolutely wonderful, and worth saving.  I love French impressionistic music.  For some reason or other, I found the fret noise to be a little more "intrusive" in this piece than in My Malaguena.  Still and all, fantastic.  Thank you.                                      
My La Malaguena 8.50 I really liked this!  Excellently done guitar music and extremely lifelike.  Is it really only 2:45?  Difficult to compare because it's so unique, but it really good.                                    
Menace 5.50 Although brief, this piece has a lot in common with the "2nd movement".  Medieval styles and chord progressions, along with some unusual chord progressions, make this interesting.  Menacing?  I don't think so.                                      
2nd Movement 6.30 Nice smooth lines, but some of the sections seem to contrast too much with the adjacent sections.  Be careful about using the same short phrase twice in a row.  That theme was used so often that it becomes irritating.  With the chords, dynamics and melodies, a work like this could, with a lot of work, be a really good piece.                                      
Mechanoscape 8.50 Such intricate music is really challenging for the listener.  I'm not sure I really understand the drum solo, but it was interesting.  I liked the part that followed, however.  But does it really "fit" with the opening music?  I can see how it kind of ties in with the mechanistic part of the title, but I don't see a connection.  Probably just me.                                      
Symphony 1, mov 4 9.90 Damn!  He's at it again!  Mozart reincarnated.  I would pay big bucks to hear these pieces (the whole symphony) played by a world class symphony orchestra, but I feel priviledged to hear it in this format.  I refuse, however, to give two 10's in a row, so there!                                      
Sometimes I Dance 9.00 Wow!  A lot of work went into shaping the string instruments notes.  It even sounds great on my computer!  (I've never been able to do that).  The work with volume is extremely intricate.  So sad, it really makes me want to cry.  When music elicits emotion, that is the ultimate conquest of the listener.  I like polyphonic choral music, and the chords remind me of that (or organ music).  Slow, but it tugs at your heart-strings.                                      
Christus Cterben 6.00 This is really pretty and I love the chimes (although placing a chime at every other beat for the first few minutes becomes a little repetitive)!  Beautiful chords and suspensions.  I might suggest that you split the strings onto different tracts to allow for better panning.  As I commented above for "Cello-strings" I feel that more use of controller 11 and/or volume would have made for a more interesting piece. [Hint: In Finale, use the midi instrument button, select a set of measures for one instrument at a time, Select "Midi tool", Edit continuous data, set it to controller 11, click "OK", Select "Midi tool", "Scale" and enter data appropriate for your dynamic changes anywhere from 0 to 127.  It's difficult, but it can be done and it would be worth it.]                                      
Cello & Strings 6.00 Beginning about 1:20, the harmonies and melodies became interesting.  I also liked the violin duet at about 2:00.  Solo passages, however, expose the faults with the midi instrumentation (individual string fonts rarely sound much like individual strings).  A little more control with controller 11 and/or volume would have made this a smoother and more dynamic piece.  The suspended chords are nice.  The repeated use of the minor-major-minor chords (a la Volga Boatmen) was a little distracting.  Overall, however, nice work.                                      
April 5.50 This piece reminds me of Medieval music.  It's a little primative in instruments, rhythms, harmony and melody.  Fortunately, I like medieval music.  Unfortunately, the piece was too short to really evaluate.                                      
The Spanish Sowcase Festival 9.00 Nice Spanish rhythms and harmonies.  Very intricate and well composed, especially with respect to the instrumentation.  To me, the interval from 2:00 to 2:24 didn't fit well with the rest of the composition, although I appreciated the change in pace.  Beautiful key change at 3:30.  Overall, really lovely piece.                                      
March, Elegy and Victory 8.50 Reminded me of a marching band at first.  Bold rhythms, clear cut chords.  Just my opinion, but the dramatic change in the music at about 2:00 was so different from the preceding music that it seemed like another piece.  Nice recovery by 3:00, however, but this repetition of the earlier music was not sufficiently different from the first part to create interest.  A little controller 11 wouldn't hurt and might have made the slower passages (in particular) really fantastic and much more realistic.  From 4:00 to about 8:00 was slower, but (IMO) much more beautiful than the faster parts.                                      
Speedy 6.50 Nice percussion - really complemented the music well.  A piece built on a single 4 chord progression, no matter how well written, will wear after a while.                                    
Concerto Italiano 8.00 This solo Harp piece reminds me of Bach (or at least early Baroque).  Nice harmonies, melody, and rhythm, it still has some sections that are a little simple for the rest of the composition.  I like this kind of music, however, and I find this piece appealing.                                      
Themes of an Angry Specter 8.50 Really nice dynamic contrast and rhythms.  I felt that a video tract was missing.  At 3:25 the music underwent a rather significant change that seemed inconsistent with the theme and the preceding music.  And then back to the show at about 4:00.  Hmmm.  Was that the interlude?  Nice ending.  Overall, very well done.                                      
A Journey in the Flying Machine 9.50 This one is going to throw off my average.  It is, of course, fantastically done and immensely pleasurable to hear.  The size of the file is equally immense.  The panning was curious.  Surely a real orchestra would not have harp running back and forth across the stage.  Still, it is a spectacular musical feast.  Reminds me a lot of The Odessey, however.                                      
Piano Sonata mov 3 7.50                                      
String Quartet, mov 4 8.00 Interesting and intricate work, but I would suggest panning since you have 4 pianos to work with.                                      
NON ORCHESTRAL                                        
I Don't Care 7.50 Pleasant atmosphere with an oldies feel.  It accomplishes what it set out to do.                                      
Where You Came From 8.00 The syncopated rhythm was a good backdrop, but sometimes it seemed overused - when two or more instruments are all syncopated then the main beat can get lost.  I am reminded of some of the 80's nicer pieces and it falls pleasantly on my ears.  Well done.                                      
5AM2 6.00 The treble line is really interesting, but the base beat is so steady and predictable that it detracts from the overall composition.  In the end, it is more of a repeated chord progression with some "improvisation" in the treble.  Nice overall effect, though.                                      
To Morrow Too 8.00 Very interesting Jazz, but I would never have thought of using the pitch wheel on the piano.                                      
Time Passes By 6.00 Nice pitch wheel, appropriate percussion, nice chords, but I seem to miss the melody.  With only three chords it was still beautiful, but I think it needs some work.  Melody, key changes, dynamic changes, and all the things that make music suck the listener into the piece could be added.  It was also a bit brief.                                      
Message From The Venus 6.00 Piano and strings make for a good combination.  Somehow, though, the two followed so closely that an opportunity for contrast was lost.  The chords were beatiful, but there wasn't much melody.  There also wasn't much dynamic contrast through the piece.  These characteristics are appropriate for background music or mood music, but the piece doesn't demand much of the listener. Fade out reinforces this impression.                                       
Rain Dancing 8.00 Reminiscent of South American music rhythmically and musically, the instrumentation also adds to the atmosphere.  Really nice panning, especially for the percussion only segment.  Although it is typical for this type of music and appropriate, the alternation between only two chords for multiple measures detracts somewhat from the overall piece.                                      
Waltz Theme 8.00 Holy smoke!  More of that fantastic jazz.  Not quite as "improvisational" as Musical Happiness, but still real fine music.  Jazz in 3/4 time; I didn't know that was possible, but then I don't listen to much jazz.  You need to find a market for your compositions.  Record this and send it to a record executive.  Or somewhere.  The end was just a little "underdone" compared with the rest of the piece, but overall it was excellent.                                      
Musical Happiness 8.80 Smooth Jazz and well done.  There are some people and places that absolutely eat this stuff up.  It would make a killing in the right atmosphere.  This goes beyond my ability to judge.  I know it's quality stuff, but how can you compare it to anything else presented this month?  I fear I may underscore it.                                      
Just The Way You Are 6.00 I liked the rhythms in this song, but the melody was uninspiring.  It seemed to hover around a single note/chord.                                      
Solitude 7.00 I wasn't aware that a clarinet could make sounds like that.  The piece seemed self-inconsistent at times alternating between jazz (or "easy rock") and hard rock.                                      
Hungarian Girl 6.00 Somewhat predictable, but pretty.  I suspect it would sound better as a vocal piece with interesting lyrics.                                      
MIXED & UNKNOWN                                        
Walk in the Park 8.00 It's interesting that the piece meanders without a specific rhythm much like a stroll.  It must have been difficult to compose without being a prisoner to rhythm.  Nice panning.                                      
Did I Pass You By 7.00 This piece is similar in chord structure, instrumentation and rhythm to Walk in the Park.  It's a bit shorter and more "rhythmic" but lacks the variety of Walk in the Park.                                      
April Tango 8.00 Interesting Spanish melody and nice use of the Pitch Wheel.  The change in style early on fit in well with the main melody that was recapitulated at the end.  For a short piece, it is complete and well done.                                      
Percussin and Swearin 7.90 An abstract piece, it is captivating because it is so unpredictable.  Nice rhythmic transformation at about 3:40.  Interesting choice of instruments.  Very bold overall.                                     
Tuna Salad 7.50 Very interesting.  I like tuna in almost any form.  And the panning!  Too fast for my eyes or ears.  Consistently mysterious.  This might make good mood music.                                      
Little Tree 8.00 This is very good!  Full of energy, power, beauty (especially the chord progressions).  [With all of the instruments following the same fast rhythm at the first, I think you may have missed an opportunity for contrast, but that's just an opinion.]  The piano is a nice touch, but for a piano solo, it could be a little more demanding.  Nice change of pace at 2:14, but it may be inconsistent with the first part.  The alternation between two chords repeatedly for this segment was a little grating towards the end.  Beautiful change at about 4:00, but the single notes held for a long time (realitively) chopped the song a little bit.  Without pursuing this further, the end section doesn't fit well with the first or second parts.  It would have to be much longer to develop a theme and tie all this together.  Still, I liked the overall composition and all its parts.                                    
Legend 22 8.00 Smooth, almost atmospheric, music.  Not much dynamic contrast, however (as one might expect from mood music).  The changes in rhythm make up for the lack of dynamic changes.                                      
Progressive Divertimento 7.80 Really nice work with the pitch wheel.  Interesting sounds and, surprizingly, it all seems to fit together although, given the difference in the sounds of the sections and the radical changes in instrumentation, I suspect that the sections were composed separately and joined together later.                                      
Eagle 6.00 I like the way the pan pipe "flies" above the accompanying music.  Neat imagery.  The rhythm is fairly straightforward.  A few more dotted quarters followed by eighth notes would spice it up a bit, particularly in the pan pipe, but also with the piano.  And then the eagle flies out of sight.  Too soon gone.                                      
Great Wall 8.70 Intricate rhythms and interesting dynamics, nice effects.  The fundamental music revolves around few chords and simple melodies.  The Chinese theme allows you to bend a few rules like parallel 5ths, but that also makes it strange to the ear.  The ethnic instruments contribute well to the oriental atmosphere.                                      
EXPERIMENTAL                                        
Oleoneptric 7.50 Building on a primary melody, the complexity and instruments used augment the progression and that keeps in interesting.  The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me, and the piece was short leaving the impression that it is incomplete, but I liked all the rest.                                      
Theme 1 7.00 Energetic, melodious, a touch of drama, stylistically consistent, and very brief.  Nice start.  Keep it up.                                      
Chopping up Freddie 8.00 Curious music and interesting panning.  Really neat with headphones.  Truly avant garde.  And makes for interesting listening.  I suspect, however, that most listeners will not appreciate the unique flavor of this music.  Kind of an acquired taste.                                      
                                         
TOTAL AVERAGE 7.51