Thank you to the over 60 over you that have applied to our first ever "Saad Haddad Prize," which focused on your orchestral music. Five finalists were selected, and one winner was chosen to receive a free copy of NotePerformer 4. Each of the five finalists will have a free, virtual lesson with me to discuss anything related to composition. 👂 Listen to the full works here: 🎼 Work 1 (Entry 2): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zQ_OE7HZFfE.html 🎼 Work 2 (Entry 7): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PYtfnUQkQzc.html 🎼 Work 3 (Entry 19): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a95tdu63LfY.html 🎼 Work 4 (Entry 46): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CO8RliDKVYo.html 🎼 Work 5 (Entry 51): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m_98V4rgsTw.html 👨⚖ Christopher CERRONE: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vHRHGJmvLzI.htmlsi=RwMAipWODUkmMrCB 👩⚖ Nicky SOHN: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-463M1X0zn0Y.htmlsi=CcpTc8aeXBGxJKOU
As an undergraduate student composer, I really appreciate what you have done here in making a judging conversation public. It made me really aware of the quality of compositions my peers across the world are writing, and I couldn't be more impressed. Maybe I'll apply to one of these contests in the future, especially if there is one for chamber music. Good work everyone!
i don't think trying to imitate classical music is bad. now a days so many people and profs want music to sound new, unique and individual. I agree with that. But I don't think it's fair to say a piece doesn't work or is boring, if it's written in the style of an earlier era. I even personally even prefer it. Going against the flow of people trying to be different and new, I think it's fine to go back in time:)
The challenge with writing in this idiom is what is the composer saying that is new? I’m not taking innovation but what music quality does this person bring to the table? It sounds competently written for sure but I don’t know what it imparts other than that. I’m not advocating for highly atonal or dissonant music either btw. I don’t write super academic over intellectualized music but I try to take qualities of past eras and put them in a modern context.
@@soundtreksYou don't understand my point, there is nothing truly original anymore, everything has been done sound wise, every expectation has been broken already, so this argument to me is invalid.
@@patrikherman_ please set up a time to chat with me via the “lessons” link in the description above when you get a chance and I will confirm your time once you’ve selected it!
Thank you so much for having me as a finalist! This is some high-quality advice that a hobbyist like me would need help finding, and I appreciate the time you all put into it and your thoughts and advice regarding it. I'd also like to congratulate Bryan for being the winner! Congrats also to Kian, Sophie, and Patrik; all the pieces are so impressive, and I consider all of you winners as well. Many of us younger composers talk about the idea of writing music in an older, more "romantic" style in the 21st century. For me personally, I compose just as a hobby on the side for fun, so there is no intention of a 'career' with this style of music; but what I try my best to do is study the older styles and showcase what I learned thus far, like a "musical blog" of some sorts. Someone once told me, "As long as you like writing it and others like listening to it, then keep doing it!" Once again, thank you so much, and I appreciate the time you and the judges put into making such a thoughtful video! Can't wait for more competitions!
Ali thank you for applying and the ensuing discussion about style we had centered around your piece was quite interesting for me as well. Please book a “lesson” with me in the link in the description and I look forward to chatting with you!
hey ali! excellent job, i'm grateful to have had the opportunity to hear your work. i noticed it is titled "I. Prelude", is it part of a larger work? if so, is there somewhere i could hear it or read the score? i would love to see more of your compositions! thanks :)
@@skylarmorgan7249 Hey Skylar! Thank you for your kind words; I'm glad you managed to like my piece :) Speaking of the title, I originally planned this piece to be a part of a more extensive, multi-movement suite for orchestra, hence its title as a 'Prelude'. It could also work (with some changes) as an introduction section to a standalone piece. I'm still planning it, so it'll definitely take a while. For now though, I might upload a score video of the piece in its current form, so stay tuned for it, with other small pieces on the way :)
I really enjoyed hearing the thoughts of the judges on the pieces. I would like to hear more about the judging process of how you chose the 5 finalists. As mentioned, you specifically chose 5 contrasting pieces. Did you know what kinds of pieces you wanted to present and chose the best of those categories? Did these do things that were unique from the other pieces? Also, is there a way to share all the applicants so that we can hear what else was submitted?
As a one-man band, I chose the 5 pieces I personally thought were the best executed in terms of technique, creativity and presentation. The outside judges were brought in to make the experience more transparent. I’m going to venture to say that there is no (classical) composition contest in the world that has done what we’ve done here. Judging is always done behind closed doors. I wanted to show a realistic rendering of what that discussion looks like.
Your piece is so beautiful thank you for sending it in! Please book a "lesson" with me via the link in the description above, and I can't wait to chat with you!
It’s so valuable to hear your discussions, opinions and your thoughts on challenges and difficulties each of those pieces had, thank you a lot, awesome!
How many of the greatest orchestral works were not built upon that which came before? How many times has the great composer of their time were labelled as "traditional" with a negative connotation? How many of those great composer were great not only because they innovated, but because that innovation was set within the traditional context? A retelling of an old story in a new and inspiring way by adding new musical devices, new orchestrations, new dynamic, rhythmic, harmonic, non-harmonic complexity incorporated within the traditional. How many of great works have we lost in this drive for innovation, forsaking anything that the ear has heard before as pastiche, idiomatic, stylistic, cliche, predictable, derivative, ...? Great works come from innovating on top of, while in lieu of has yet to yield a success on the grand stage. Where are all the modern great works that transcend across academic and non-academic alike? I am still waiting for a single work that checks those modern boxes and still manages to lodge firmly in most ears it encounters. How long will it take to once again finally bear some ageless masterpieces? Of course there are a few top film composers that continue to bring new light on the traditional with brilliant works that will be remember, performed and listened to for 100s of years. And yet they too are labelled "traditional" by the academic and but graciously praised by the average listener. History seems to be telling a story. Timeless masterpieces pay tribute while simultaneously pioneering.
There are so many great orchestral pieces out there… John Luther Adams Become Ocean, Thomas Ades Asyla, Julia Wolfe Fire in my Mouth, so so many. The cmaj7 RU-vid channel is really a great resource for these kinds of pieces. Classical composers are not master marketers which is really the big difference here. Film music has a much wider audience as the marketing behind the films is overwhelming compared to any one piece of classical music. Just my 2 cents.
I don't understand the problem of having a classical/romantic piece in your contest, just beacuse we're in 21th century, doesn't mean we can't communicate ideas using older aesthetics. Also, that is my style, so thanks for this video, now I know I'll not waste time submitting music to you, this seems biased.
I actually love and advocate for classical and romantic music, and also teach it. - but I can only choose 5 works to showcase out of hundreds and these are the 5 I thought exemplified a personal voice that each composer found on their own. This wasn’t meant to be discouraging, but to be a fun way to see how contests are done. Usually contests like these are done behind closed doors. I chose to be vulnerable and show you the process. Will there be people that don’t like it? Sure! But that’s the point of discourse. This comment by the way is less directed at you and more so for the folks reading through all these comments. Don’t be discouraged and write the music you want to write. I’m just one person with my own opinion.
You wish one of the judging criteria was whether the composer had anything to say. The last piece is too pastichey. I guess the 4th piece maybe the best one...Who knows.
In fact I was a bit disappointed by the fact that among the finalist were so many pieces that seemed to be heavily historical in style, probably influenced by a certain kind of mainstream film score. I suppose that was also the case with all the other entries? I do like it that to try not to judge this in your evaluation, however I think not addressing this point when talking about composing feels too simple for an answer, there has to be the question of originality, don't you think?
I don’t understand what you are addressing here - Can you be more specific? Of course every piece here involves techniques that have appeared throughout “history” - that goes without saying.
@@saadhaddadmusic I am referring mainly to tonality and rhythm, both of which are used mostly in a much more historical way than e.g. you do in your music that you present. I don't want to simply dismiss the compositions chosen, they have beautiful ideas, but I find it "revealing" in a certain way, that the musical language of the candidates is much less "brave" than what I had hoped for considering you being a potential "role model". It seemed to me that parts of what you "teach" here or at least talk of - e.g. using microtonality - is not even considered at all or tried out.
@@MSchultheis ahh I see - a) I have a wider palette than maybe I give off, 2) there were no pieces that were submitted (that followed the instructions of the call) that were more “brave” than those that I picked. If sample size was larger than 60 scores I’m sure that would be different. Ironically there are many folks saying they wish to have seen more traditional scores than the ones I’ve presented which actually to me are largely traditional from my perspective. A considered comment like yours deserves a considered answer so there you go :)
@@saadhaddadmusic Thanks for your honest answer! Maybe it could be interesting to talk in a future video about the way you feel about composing "traditional" or meaning it has to be able to say something new. I remember you saying in a video where you showed an earlier piece of yours that was more "film score"- like that you don't do this anymore. I suspect for a reason!? The question is: At what point in a composers life does the need arise to free oneself from the language of the 19th century (at least to a certain degree?). And which role in the general perception of composing today take the many RU-vid channels that propose a kind of "stock-music" aesthetic at best? However, enough for this, keep up the good work!
Interesting. Despite what they said, to me, the 1st 4 options were all really quite similar. Yes, of course, at a detail level they are very different, but step back a bit and they all use the same ‘genre’ of language and orchestration. And yet the 5th option was so ‘traditional’, that it seemed almost a token inclusion. So it’s clear what these 3 judges were looking for, stylistically. And it screamed of years in academic ivory towers, and I came away thinking anything that didn’t fit this conception wouldn’t have been selected. Of course it’s all subjective (past a certain skill point) and I guess these 3 all had similar viewpoints. (Or was it just Saad who selected the finalists?) anyway, an interesting process to watch. Still think my piece was better ;-)
I selected all the finalists myself. And there’s no way on this green Earth that the first four sounded similar 🤣 but everyone is entitled to their opinion!
@@saadhaddadmusic well, it’s all perspective. Compared to the vast amount of orchestral styles there are, I would say these were mostly ‘of a type’, even if of course they were different in detail. Anyway, thanks for replying.
@@memarkiamI get what you mean. It appears that the respective specialisms of the judges veered towards that ‘type’ of music. It would be interesting to survey the total entries to see the extent to which other schools of thought were represented. I respect Saad for everything that he is doing. Hosting a competition like this is a gift to our community. But certain limitations can be expected that centre around the respective specialisms of the judges, that I expect Saad has come into contact through his own, unique professional work. It’s never going to be a channel dedicated orchestration in an 18th century pastiche!
