Symphonos Studio

Written and performed by: Carlos McMillan Fuentes Date composed: 12/18/2001 Date recorded: 9/16/2013 Copyright 2013 My very first numbered composition. I was obsessed with the Chopin Waltzes at the time! While not my very earliest composition (I have been writing songs and melodies for as long as I can remember), it is the first piece I deemed worthy of an Opus number. This is the first time it has been recorded and shared.

Written and Performed by: Carlos McMillan Fuentes Date composed: 12/19/2001 Date performed: 9/23/2013 Copyright 2013 My second numbered composition, the Grand Waltz Brillante in F major, Op. 1 No. 2. Heavily steeped in Chopin, my idol, this somewhat awkward (but lovable) work was written literally the next day after Op. 1 No. 1. It was an attempt at capturing a broader form while incorporating a pianistically challenging counterpoint around a lovely sing-song melody. Enjoy! :]

Written and performed by: Carlos McMillan Fuentes Date composed: 12/20/2001 Date performed: 9/30/2013 Copywright 2013 In this week's upload -- the Étude in C minor, Op. 1 No. 3 -- the primary difficulty is found in the repeated notes and unusual intervals in the right hand. Though set in the key of C minor, the piece is more properly "bitonal" -- that is, existing in two keys simultaneously, as the left hand figuration is actually set in the key of F minor. This piece is also my first numbered composition to make use of a simple short motif, the "butterfly theme," which is a recurring motif in many of my compositions. It is so called because when I was very young (perhaps around 6 or 7), I had a vivid dream where a female butterfly was monarch (pun intended) over a kingdom of strange creatures, and she was being praised with a hymn that utilized this theme with the text "butterfly, mm, butterfly, mm..." and so forth. The use of the theme reached its apotheosis in "The Hymn to the Aten" (Symphony No. 1), Op. 10.

Written and performed by: Carlos McMillan Fuentes Date composed: 1/5/2002 Date performed: 10/7/2013 Copyright 2013 Musically it is fairly straightforward, but remains my favorite piece from the Opus 1 set. Definitely had some tricky moments to learn!

Written and performed by: Carlos McMillan Fuentes Date composed: January (?) 2002 Date performed: 10/14/2013 Copyright 2013 The last work of the Opus 1 set: the Sonata in F minor, Op. 1 No. 5. Music theory purists will note that the piece is not strictly in traditional sonata form -- which primarily stems from my limited understanding of sonata form at age 13. However, it belongs to the tradition of one-movement sonatas exemplified by the works of Domenico Scarlatti and others. This sonata is in three-part (ternary) form, with the key relationships i-III-i. The middle section uses contrasting material before a return to the material of the opening, which is developed through the use of a denser texture and the whole work ends with a brief coda. This is the first of three pieces with the title "Sonata" -- the others being the Sonata in B-flat minor "Night After Night," Op. 3 No. 8, and the Sonata in A minor, Op. 6 No. 2. All of these works are also only one movement each.