This piano track emerged in the beginning of the lockdown in Vienna. The city of Vienna was suddenly quiet, but singing birds took over the space. The most magic hours were during nightfall, when the blue of the night set in. This is what this song is about. For Video Footage of that time see 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkO4soeykEs
Find this song also on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/6DNGpnPvsvJiRwe9OoUtFs?si=6abcd3ddee75475c

Composition-wise, the piece has a recurring theme in C that is varied several times with individual unique sections in betwwen. At the climax it shift to c minor while fading out in C major again. While the piece is in general in a 4/4, the right hand becomes more and more triolic in the latter part of the piece.

Blue Of The Night (Solo Piano)

Lying in the gras, gazing up the stars above the alps right into the milky way. A warm summer night, the air fresh but still warm, the evening scent of flowers and trees in my nose. Around me the bats fly from the woods, the crickets chirp and from time to time a shooting star lights up the night sky 
(Yeah, it is mid August and these are the Perseides - if you haven't done so, mark your calendar for the next August 13 and head out for a spectacular night 🌟)

Find this song also on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZISNjB77nqhYYAECtaUet?si=a8b17de92b3a4781
and on Youtube
https://youtu.be/AWv7uMXta5k

Star Gazing (Solo Piano)

This is a piece from the film Vincent that I wrote way back in my mid 20s. It underlines a scene where a twen eagerly waits in the floor of his parents flat for a call of his lover. It is a very tender piece in depicting the fragility of their early love om c minor. In the end it switches to C major when the telephone finally rings and anxiety changes to joy.

The track is available also on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfmZdGmPe019sCZB9oJcp?si=57e3e5855b1e4e6c
and Youtube
https://youtu.be/V0eLyhUyGlY


You can find the film under https://archive.org/details/Vincent_version_03_engl_subtitles_h264 
and the soundtrack (from like 25 years back) here: 
https://archive.org/details/KonradRichterSoundtrackMovieVincent

Edit 22.12.27: I had originally used the Dolby-Remastering provided by Soundcloud. Due to the really bad results, (extensive clipping,  loss of dynamics, strange hissing sounds in the back) I changed back to a version I remastered myself.

Waiting For The Call (Solo Piano)

This track starts with a well known theme from the movie "The Godfather". In fact, I have never seen the film and I erroneously thought I had invented the theme, until I learned that it is actually not by me 🤔. I must have subconciously heard it from street musicians and then my brain sneakily declared it as its own invention 😉. Anyways, I am certain, my piece is sufficiently different from the original film music that I will not be sued for copyright issues ...😉.

The tune starts with the theme of "The Godfather" and then relatively quickly turns into an arpeggio-like part. Originally I had named the song "Rain on the Fields" as this passage reminds me of rainveils floating through the air. 
After a very reduced middle piece, the arpeggio piece is repeated again, but this time with a delay of 1/16 note in the right hand which gives it (at least for me) a distinctly different, more airy, feeling. After an elegic (more ore less) triolic part, in the end, the piece touches again lightly on the Godfather theme and finally vanishes in thin air 🎈

I hope, you like it! In any case, I would appreciate your comments (positive and negative). 

All the best, Konrad

PS: You can find this track also on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/7DG31Ozi5aIGQl8PRsAodO?si=dd923565b0ce4a63
and Youtube (albeit with a different title when I originally uploaded it)
https://youtu.be/0g-jmDrEnHU

A Tribute To The Godfather (Solo Piano)

I wrote this piece for my uncles 80th birthday. The composition captures various facettes of his life: Coming from (catholic) Austria but settling and living in (protestant) Switzerland, he has throughout his life been actively involved in his church community. So I took a variation of the  ecumenical Taize-song “Bleibt bei mir und wachet mit mir” (Matthew 26:38) as the main theme. The theme is coming up three times, interrupted by various parts that touch on other episodes of his life: his bringing up in the aftermath of WW II, his family life in rural Switzerland or as his classic piano education and subsequent Jazz/Blues/Boogie improvisations which he distributed on CD to friends and family.  My uncle is also the person who nurtured my musical interest by frequent CD gifts and he inspired me to publish my pieces. Thank you for bringing this aspect into my life and happy birthday 😊.

Compositionwise, the piece is relatively straight forward: The main theme comes three times (in the very beginning and in the very end in d minor and after ca 1 min in a minor) with the  first bars stemming from the above mentioned song but then leaving the original version with intermittent parts that resemble the main stations of my uncles life. The other thing I tried to emphasize in this song is a switching between parts with a relatively rigid 4/4 metrum and some intermittent parts with triplets.

A Rich Life (Solo Piano)

Every year in December, the high fog in Vienna starts to weigh heavily, and I tend to forget what summer is like. I mean, literally, going out of the house without a jacket seems like such a distant memory to me that it could well stem from a fairy tail.
In this song, I wanted to capture my essence of summer. A meadow with a plentitude of different flowers, undulating in a breeze of wind. A short rain shower that clears the air and leaves a fresh scent. Lying in the grass, running through it and simply embracing nature. And the melancholic certainty that it is still so many months till I cann enjoy this again …

Composition-wise the piece consist of three variations @ 0:0, 1:01 and 2:42 which level off into different directions after the initial same 9 notes in the beginning. 
In each variation, after some bars of intro, the right hand is shifted versus the left hand so that the „1“ of the right hand comes 1/8 resp 1/16 before the respective „1“ of the left hand. With that offset I try to evoke the feeling of the blossoms moving like soft waves in the wind. 
The tension in the piece comes besides some syncopics also from the gradually increasing metrum in the left hand – from ¼ in the beginning to the subsequent 1/8 pattern starting @ 0:10 that builds the left-hand structure for most of the piece on to the intermittent faster segment @ 2:11 ff with 1/16 metrum.

The piece has been recorded on a Roland FP-90
The picture was created with Stable Diffusion and postprocessed in a very brute way in Powerpoint ☺

Summer Meadow (Solo Piano)

Well, the song‘s title is relatively straight-forward. Due to the harmonies that sound (at least for me) quite oriental and the unsquare metra at some parts, this song reminds me of one of my all-time most favourite books. I leave it up to you, dear Listener, to imagine, how this specific tale evolves .

Composition-wise: The piece is in a scale (a-a#-c#-d-e-f-g-a) that is not an ecclestical mode but rather influenced by oriental scales. I read a bit about Persian music and though this scale also does not seem to occur in the Persian Dastgah system with its microtonal intervals, it still it reminds me of 1001 nights – can‘t help the cliche, hope, this is not understood as cultural appropriation ;-). 
The first minute until 1:07 the piece oscillates between just two harmonies (based on a and a#). Thereafter, the track shifts to the more lyric Dorian mode (d-f-g-a-b-c). The arpeggios starting @ 1:37 are meant to resemble a Persian tar. Thereafter, @ 2:11 the track reverts to the finish with the original tune but 1 tone lower (ie, the scale starts with g instead of a) and some minor rhythmic variations vs the beginning. 
The base rhythm is a 4/4, though this is interrupted frequently by syncopes to allow for a more free floating rhythmic texture. Moreover, the underlying 4/4 is at times interrupted by beats of length 6/4 (e.g. @ 0.14, 1:11, 2:25, 2:44,… ). 

The track has been recorded on a Roland FP-90 and mastered in Cubase by adding compressor, reverb, a Stereo enhancer and fiddling a bit with the EQ.
The picture was created with Stable Diffusion. I find it fascinating that most of the figures upon closer inspection make little anatomic sense but still our brain accepts them upon a short glance as a perfectly valid picture.

Scheherazades Tale (Solo Piano)

You can find this track also on Youtube where I filmed myself while playing this. https://youtu.be/s5ytA3aeu6w 

I just wanted to try out whether I could do a Boogie. This is the outcome. Hope you like it and it gives you good energy. 

Composition-wise: The left is a consistent 1/8th Boogie base line throughout the piece and typically consisting of a lower chromatic line and an upper constant note (e.g., C0-C1-D0-C1-Eb0-C1-E0-C1). The right hand dances over this with a partly Staccato theme that is loosened up by repeated Syncopes, Delays and advanced notes. The piece starts in a joyous C and modulates over its course to the minor third and ends in the warmer (and for me richer) Eb. 

The track has been recorded on a Roland FP-90.
The Cover art was created with Stable Diffusion which I continue fuddling around with. I think it is already a far jump from my previous „Sheherazades Tale“ Cover art but still not perfect. In particular, I continue to wonder what kind of music might be played with the very peculiar arrangement of white and black keys on the keyboard.

Danc'n On The Low Keys (Solo Piano)

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/3ROhTHrVNxzfcoLKJvhTbY
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjIFwZ_Puog


The inspiration for this track is a vision where I am not sure whether it is a faint memory from some childhood holiday or whether I have dreamt it  :
Standing on the edge of a rocky cliff, gazing out at the tumultuous ocean below. The waves crashing against the rocks with a thunderous roar, the force of the water sending a spray of mist and foam high into the air. In the distance a lone lighthouse
overlooking the scenery. A glimps of the power and majesty of nature and our own smallness in comparison. 

Composition-wise: The piece consists of three parts (@0:01, @0:59, @1:45) that always start with the same 5 notes but then develop into three distinct variations with different characteristics but throughout the track there is a certain sense of dramatic scenery.
The left hand is throughout the piece mostly in octave jumps (which became quite challenging condition-wise at the end of the piece) that segment the 4/4 beat into groups of 3-3-2 (the only notable exception is the part @0:35ff with its chromatic baseline).
The right hand alternates between lyric parts such as in the beginning or @0:59ff and rhythmic syncopic parts such as @2:30ff that leads to the final where the right hand preceeds the left hand by a beat to create a sense of energy.

The track has been recorded on a Roland FP-90 and mastered in Cubase by adding compressor, reverb, a Stereo enhancer and fiddling a bit with the EQ. 
The picture was created with Stable Diffusion.

Lighthouse On The Rocks

Dear Reader, dear Listener! I am glad that I may welcome you on my channel.
Stemming from Vienna, I feature here my compositions which I pursue after my daytime job. Though this is not my main job, I devote a lot of effort and practice into crafting, refining and rehearsing my pieces.

My musical journey started when I was 6 year old and subscribed to piano lessons in the public music school of Vienna (thanks to the city of Vienna for funding the beginnings of my passion; Yes, I am a big supporter of publicly funded education!). I finished my piano education (mostly centered around classic and romantic music) at the age of 22 and have since pursued my passion of playing and composing. I had year-long interruptions due to my work leading me astray from home; still I recorded also in these times fragments, ideas and tunes onto my voice recorder – must have been a strange sight when I was humming and whistling on the airports. 
Besides my piano pursuit, I have been part of a local quire for the past 30 years. We have been covering a huge repertoire from Rennaissance up to 20th century contemporary music which gave me a more comprehensive view of different styles and genres. 
My music is a fusion of different styles, stemming from my musical education and more modern, contemporary elements from Jazz, Rock or Pop. I constantly aim to explore the limits and extend the boundaries of my composing style in the different pieces. Like: 
Exploring various scales and tonalities. Building the tension curve of the overall piece by switching between soothing and rhythmic parts. Experimenting with syncopes and polyrhythmics. Modulating along but also across the circle of fifth. Mastering of the track.

If you like what you are hearing, I would be delighted if you follow my channel; if you have feedback (positive and in particular also constructive suggestions for further improvement), I would very much appreciate it in the comments or if you leave me a private message.
Enjoy your time with my music! 

Pls find some more content at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn5Ob0xgMHvddOlTsx25V7Q
For contact, pls use: konrad.spittelberg@gmail.com

Konrad Spittelberg

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