written in 2023 for violin, cello, piano, vibraphone, flute and clarinet

under water, in all directions (2023).mp3

Another bit of music that I have been using as just orchestration sketches. Out of a need to finish tasks, this little orchestra thing came of it. There is a romantic melody that was supposed to be used for another project that didn't pan out. Several short music vignettes down together, with a repeat, it almost seems coherent. Working title possibly, but that's the image that I see in my mind when I hear this music.

Panic at the Fair! (2024) sketches for orchestra

This is the orchestral arrangement of the brass quintet I wrote last year in grad school, Alloyed Metamorphosis.

Orchestral Metamorphosis (2023-24)

This is my final thesis for my composition undergraduate degree. Premiered by the Columbia Civic Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Stefan Freund. This piece was supervised by Dr. W. Thomas McKenney. Written in 2009 and premiered the next, I'm still very proud of this piece of music. Inspired by Robert Frost's famous poem, The Road Not Taken (1916).

Two Roads Diverged (2009) for orchestra

Commissioned by Alex Innecco for the 9th St Philharmonic - premiered at the Missouri United Methodist Church in 2010

a 9th Street Overture (2010) for orchestra

This is a piano solo transcription of the brass quintet, written in the fall of 2022, Alloyed Metamorphosis. I had arranged this piece for orchestra first, see (and hear) below (as well as the original quintet version), then decided to set it for piano because I wanted to be able to play it. Perhaps a recording of me playing this solo will appear on my YouTube page, @HernandezPlaysPiano.

Alloyed Metamorphosis (2024) transcribed for piano solo

This started as just a little dabble in the orchestra realm, at least just a few scribbles for practice of orchestration. A two note melodic fragment was established and slightly toyed with. I kept coming back to these sketches, that I thought surely would never become music that anyone would ever listen. I have problem messed with this on and off for about 11 years. No significance in today being the day it was completed, except for the spirit of wanting to complete things. A few edits and cleaning have been done since uploading, and here is the newest version, where I take advantage of the panning features, imitating the antiphonal double choir moments of Renaissance choral part-writing.

A Contemplation (2024) sketch for orchestra

This multi-movement work is a reimagined, almost-summarized version of the similarly titled work for chorus and two pianos. Since this piece is scored for a MIDI-executing synthetic orchestra, produced through the notation software Finale, and enhanced by the Garritan Virtual Instrument Sound Library, one could say the forces required are almost completely different. I have always thought that when premiering new works of music, a lot of the time that will be the audiences first, last and only hearing of the creation hours were spent crafting, and that that was a shame. Because I was so proud of my recent settings of some Emily Dickinson poems, I wanted to rehash the melodic material while maintaining the emotional and contemplative aspect of the work. While writing, I imagined: the piece blaring surround sound in an auditorium as graceful and enigmatic dancers express the poetry not heard in these arrangements. If one were following my career and output, the sweet relief of something familiar and tonal amongst the new music released today, as the momentum and texture/shape of the music is very similar to the other work. Yet this isn't a simple second listen to old material; the package is colorful, brilliant and different. Without the words being sung, the imagination is allowed to run wild, and the emotions are tickled and teased in new and possibly unexpected ways. This set is part of a larger creation, that easily can be experienced in that new setting (30 symphonic depictions of precious gemstones and jewels as ballet music)(so each movement has a subtitle after various gemstones: Garnet, Ruby, Moonstone, Chalcedony, Turquoise and Amazonite); or just as easily can be experienced divorced from the gemstones setting and completely as abstract concert dance music. A note for musicians/dancers preparing this work: it is encouraged to have this set and the choir work influence and inspire one another. They are two different works with two different soundscapes, but they were both born of the same inspiration and should reflect one another as such. 

Using Thomas H. Johnson's 1960 catalogue of Dickinson's output, each poem set is the following, respectively: On this wondrous sea (4), Exultation is the going (76), I felt a funeral in my brain (340), It struck me...ev'ry day (362), No rack can torture me (384).

Through Eternity, a mini ballet on the Poetry of Emily Dickinson (2024) for MIDI-orchestra

This set of five poems by Dickinson and set for choir and two pianos, a choral tone poem, akin to Copland's Twelve Songs of Emily Dickinson (1950) or Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire, op. 21 (1921).  A work that touches on the subjects of the afterlife, eternity, death, love, sex, over a twenty minute journey. The concept of this piece goes back to as early as 2016, having completed a couple movements, I knew exactly how I wanted the structure and flow of the totality of the work.  Then several years passed where I did nothing to the work, with two movements left to finish.  The second move out to Los Angeles finally inspired me to finish the work and dedicate it to a person and group that I know well and have worked with plenty over the years.  I love how the final product turned out and will love even more to hear it live some day in the future. (Just for clarification, this track is a MIDI rendition of the score, so for now, unfortunately, a computer-chorus is singing.) Using Thomas H. Johnson's 1960 catalogue of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)'s output, each poem set is the following, respectively: On this wondrous sea (4), Exultation is the going (76), I felt a funeral in my brain (340), It struck me...ev'ry day (362), No rack can torture me (384).

Through Eternity: Poems of Emily Dickinson for SATB chorus and two pianos (2023)

In May 2024, I embarked on a month-long creative journey inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Instead of writing a novel, I composed music. In 2014, I composed Fifteen Preludes and Fugues during November by writing a short piano piece each day. This time, I challenged myself to write thirty-one short, evenly-phrased (for ballet exercise use) piano pieces throughout May (but by the end of the month when I didn’t have all of them finished, I decided to just cap the project at a total of thirty, which feels right). Initially, I aimed to create music for ballet classes (music must be phrased evenly with eight counts per phrase and generally eight phrases is about as much music is needed for an exercise), but the project took on a life of its own.  I experimented with uncommon time signatures such as 7/4, 10/4, 9/8, 5/4, and 5/8. These experiments became somewhat of a centerpiece of the whole of the work, adding musical variety and providing an extra challenge for dancers and listeners alike. By mid-June, the thirty piano pieces were complete, and I spent the following months orchestrating them, adding layers of texture and color. The orchestral versions expanded the project beyond ballet class music into something larger, more narrative-driven, and dramatically rich. This Symphonic Gemstones Collection is what I’m excited to share on my YouTube page and social media, alongside the daily release of its piano counterpart, Precious Jewels and Gemstones.  Each movement represents a gemstone, capturing its unique qualities. Video games inspired the structure of the entirety of the work which mirrors different levels or scenarios, where pieces like “Serpentine” and “Aventurine” serve as battle music, reminiscent of the battle scenarios in Final Fantasy VII and Super Mario. The uncommonly metered sections reflect alien landscapes and challenges, with pieces like “Aquamarine” and “Lapis Lazuli” in 7/4, “Onyx” in 5/4, “Peridot” in 5/8, “Tiger's Eye” and “Bloodstone” in 9/8, and “Opal” and “Aquamarine” in 10/4, offering varied emotional and physical landscapes.
Influences from Prokofiev, Shostakovich, John Adams, and Stravinsky are evident, with the rhythmic drive and echoing patterns from Adams, the rhythmic spontaneity and force and the harmonic density from Stravinsky and the orchestrational techniques and palette from Prokofiev and Shostakovich . Thematic development transforms melodies into dramatic gestures and the tag-endings, or Coda sections, became a colorful part of the orchestration, one of the many differences between the two versions of the work.  The culminating example of this coda orchestrating is in “Opal”, where I rework melodic fragments into a thrilling climax in the piano within the orchestra.

The Symphonic Gemstones Collection has evolved from simple piano sketches, Precious Jewels and Gemstones, into a multi-layered work suitable for concert or ballet performance, in parts or in its entirety. Mixing video game music inspiration, modern orchestration, thematic transformation and harmonic depth, these collections reflect the diverse textures and narratives that gemstones evoke, much like the varied paths we encounter in life.

Alexandrite, one of the rarest colored gemstones, is known for its unique color-change property and high demand among collectors. Natural alexandrite with vivid color changes and minimal inclusions is exceptionally scarce, symbolizing transformation, luck, and balance. These qualities reflect in the music through its shifting tones and dynamic themes, promoting joy, prosperity, and harmony. The orchestration represents the piano sketch fairly accurately, with the orchestrated version beginning with an eight-count of solo percussion, setting the exciting tone, and throughout sythnesizer glissandos blast like fireworks throughout the background. Compare this orchestral version to the piano version and see how the music brings out the beauty of this rare gemstone.

Symphonic Gemstones Collection - #1 ALEXANDRITE

Pianist, composer, educator & collaborator
#composer #symphony #orchestral #piano #newmusic #contemporaryclassical #modernclassical #postmodernera #musiceducation

Anthony G. Hernandez (b. 1987)