Neecher's Compositions and Arrangements

Works for Solo Piano

Arrangement of the Opening to Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor (1995)

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This is a jazzy parody of the concerto which may be quite funny for those who know it.

Arrangement of the Prelude and Fugue in D Major from J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1996)

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This is a Busoni-style arrangement of the Prelude and Fugue. There are not too many changes in the Prelude, but almost every note in the Fugue is doubled at the octave for a "grandioso" effect. As a result, the essence of the fugue is virtually wiped out, but oh well.

A Bizet-Liszt-Mozart Pastiche (1997)

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Themes from the Prelude from Bizet's L’Arlésienne, Suite No. 1, Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole, and the first movement from Mozart's Sonata in C Major (KV 545) are somehow stitched together to form this pastiche.

Carpathian Mountains (1994)

In this piece, tonal and atonal sections alternate using the same melody. Even though this piece pictures my view of the Carpathian Mountains fairly well, it was used primarily as a compositional exercise where I molded a twelve-tone "melody" into something that makes tonal sense.

City Scenes (1992)

There is a constant use of tritone-related harmonies in this boisterous piece. It mainly depicts the rush-hour mess in Chicago.

Fantasy on Seconds (1995)

A short piece built on the interval of a second and derivatives of it (such as a ninth or a seventh). Improvisation was the original title, but I renamed it since it wasn't an improvisation anyway. Again, a compositional exercise.

Gray Mass (1997)

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This is what you get when you make fun of a composer who wrote both a White Mass AND a Black Mass. This is a parody on Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 5.

Invention in E Major (1992)

A short piece using Bach-like techniques. Yet another compositional exercise.

Mischievous Elfin Waltz (1997)

A rhythmically tricky waltz for intermediate-level pianists.

Poem in A Minor (1994)

First it was untitled, then it was to become the third piece of a never-finished three-piece suite, then it was called Nocturne, and now it is called Poem. I wonder what's next—"The Modulating Title"?

Polonaise No. 1 in A Minor (1987)

This is my first "official" work. I've written compositions before this one, but I could care less about them. Even though this composition was influenced by Grieg's Piano Concerto (Grieg was a Norwegian), I decided to write it in the "Hungarian" style (a Polonaise is supposed to be Polish).

Polonaise No. 2 in E Major (1989, revised 1998)

The influence of Liszt's Polonaise No. 2 (also in E Major) and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 can be easily heard in this Polonaise.

Prelude No. 1 in E Minor (1991)

The melody of this fairly exciting piece is based on the opening of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Prelude No. 2 in C Minor (1992)

More or less in the style of Rachmaninoff, Prelude No. 2 features fast repeating chords and sweeping arpeggios.

Romanze (1988)

In general, a slow and quiet piece where the melody is accompanied by gentle-moving arpeggio figures. One can hear an obvious Chopin influence.

Thanksgiving Minuet (1992)

So-called because of when it was finished, this parody veers off from a normal minuet by being in G-flat major. The middle section is quoted in my Czerny Variations.

Transcription of "Andante Molto" from J. S. Bach's Pastorale in F Major (1998)

This is the second movement from the Pastorale which I transcribed so that I could use it for an encore.

Transcription of La Cupis from Rameau's Piece de Clavecin en Concert (1999)

A friend of mine remarked that this piece sounded like John Tesh. Sorry, but if anything, John Tesh sounds like Rameau. Maybe not.

Transcription of Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem (1999)

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I made this transcription for the 150th anniversary of Chopin's death. Chopin wanted the Requiem performed at his funeral. The Lacrimosa is arguably the most popular movement of the Requiem.

Transcription of J. S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor (1999)

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This is a challenging transcription of Bach's greatest organ work. To put it more accurately, this is a transcription of my four-hand version done back in 1997.

Transcription of Liszt's Psalm XIII (1995)

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Originally for tenor solo, mixed chorus, and orchestra, this psalm setting expresses emotions from grief to joy in the utmost musical way. Unfortunately, very few people know about this piece today. This transcription was done to make the beauty of this piece available to pianists.

Variation on a Swiss Song (1993)

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A plain, simple, and innocent theme is suddenly transformed into a colossal, octave-infested nightmare. Yes, Beethoven also wrote variations on the same theme.

Variation on a Variation on a Swiss Song (1997)

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Pretty much self-explanatory, I think; this is a funky version of my Variation on a Swiss Song.

Variations on a Theme by Czerny (1993, revised 1995)

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This is based on Czerny's Etude in E Major (Op. 740, No. 23). Czerny is often disliked by pianists because of the lack of creativity and development in his music. This set of six variations, each written in the style of a different composer, is intended to make fun of him. Many quotations appear in this piece, including Liszt's Mephisto Waltz and Prokofiev's Seventh Piano Sonata.

All Other Works

Benihana Song Accompaniment (1990)

This was commissioned by Benihana, a chain of Japanese steakhouses.

The Dude Fugue (1995)

This was composed along with a number of other DePaul piano students. It is actually an arrangement of Bach's Fugue in C Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II for SATB chorus plus keyboard accompaniment. The lyrics are "Bach is the dude; yeah, he is the dude." Many runs are difficult if not impossible to sing in one breath.

Fugue in Three Voices for a Solo Monophonic Instrument (1994)

A study for any monophonic instrument (such as a clarinet or flute), in which the player must handle a three voice fugue alone. The fugue is written in a way in which no more than one pitch sounds simultaneously (I call it monophonic counterpoint).

Night Song at Amalfi (1993)

Scored for soprano with piano accompaniment, this is my attempt at writing in the style of the 19th-Century art song.

Night Song at Amalfi's Piano Bar (1993)

This is a parodistic sequel to the same song above.

Piano Trio in One Movement (1994, revised 1998)

Scored for violin, cello, and piano, this piece displays the unrelenting cruelty of mankind. Or that's what it sounds like anyway.

Three-Voice Background Music (1991–1994)

This is a collection of short pieces, most of which are designed to repeat indefinitely. Although these were originally written for use in video games, they don't sound too bad alone.

Transcription of J. S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor for piano, four hands (1997)

A Busoni-style transcription of this popular work for organ. Noisy and obnoxious. Heh heh.

Transcription of J. S. Bach's Pastorale in F Major for piano, four hands (1998)

A relatively straightforward transcription of this beautiful organ work.

Transcription of the orchestral part of the choral finale to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 for two pianos, four hands (1994)

Any choir rehearsal accompanist who has done the last movement to this great symphony knows how difficult it is to play the orchestral reduction with only ten fingers. This transcription was done for practical as well as musical purposes.

Variations on a Japanese Air ("Kojo no Tsuki") for Violoncello and Piano (2002)

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Japanese composer Rentaro Taki's immensely popular setting of "Kojo no tsuki" ("Moon over castle ruins") paved the way for Japanese music of the 20th century. These variations on Taki's beautiful melody, written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death in 1903, intertwine Western styles with imitations of Japanese instruments and sounds. There is also a polythematic variation where Amazing Grace is used as a coexisting theme.

Variations on a Theme by Liszt for Woodwind Quartet (1995–2001)

Twelve variations are based on Liszt's incredible setting of Psalm 129 for bass solo, male chorus, and organ. This quartet is scored for flute, B-flat clarinet, bassoon, and contrabassoon.