Revising Piano Sonata No. 3
The original version of my Piano Sonata No. 3, composed in 1987, was the last significant work for which I
Read more
Author: Robert Cunningham
Heinrich Schenker’s Musical Grammar
To say that music is a language is not just a metaphor. Music has syntactical structures very akin to those
Read more
Beethoven, Liszt, and Prokofieff
Below is the program for a concert I gave in Atlanta, GA on September 5, 1986. It was, by design,
Read more
Harmonic Motion in Piano Sonata No. 4
In the archetypical classical sonata-allegro movement, the exposition moves from tonic to dominant (often via the mediant). The development is
Read more
The Origin of Themes (Piano Sonata No. 4)
My Piano Sonata No. 4 is a single-movement work, a little over 26 minutes in length, in sonata-allegro form. Within
Read more
7 Fun Facts about Prelude No. 7
1. Within my Nine Preludes for Piano Solo, Prelude No. 7 is symmetrically opposite the other scherzo-like prelude, No. 3,
Read more
Aspirations
In high school, I was the quintessential nerd, known chiefly as the school math whiz and as an intense chess
Read more
Prelude Sets and the Circle of Fifths
The Circle of Fifths is usually used to illustrate the keys associated with key signatures, with increasing numbers of
Read more
The Structure of Romance
The romance genre is by nature lyrical, and the two themes in my Romance for Oboe and Piano both fit
Read more
Vibrations of Sympathy
The violin was the first instrument I studied formally, and I took my first lessons around the time of my
Read more
Mental Practice
If you are a serious pianist who practices regularly, then hours after your practice session has ended, it is likely
Read more
The First Recital
The newspaper clipping (at left below), which I believe is from the Raleigh News and Observer, dates from my senior
Read more
From Beethoven to Shakespeare
During my early years as a composer, I put on quite a few musical soirées, and one of the most
Read more
The Forgotten Nocturne
Many of my listeners are familiar by now with my two piano nocturnes, both of which can be heard on
Read more
Coming Back
In past posts to this blog, I have described the musical soirées I started putting on in my home in
Read more