my first ever planned work and one which is full of the joys of my new hobby with an impassioned romantic slow movement. The initial idea (and the Eb key) came from the Schumann Rheinsh. It's the only symphony to date to include a quartet of saxophones.
1. allegretto maestoso
2. adagio 15'22"
3. molto giocoso quasi ubriaco 29'31"
4. presto 34'41"

the most ambitious of my early works, it's an attempt in the slow movement to capture something of the atmosphere of Bruckner's 9th.
1. allegretto
2. scherzo 19'32"
3. adagio 28'36"

This was a fairly early work which is the most exuberantly joyful of the entire series
1. allegro con fuoco
2. andante cantabile 10'29"
3. presto 27'21"

the fifth symphony inevitably lives in the shadow of a more famous 5th and has some of its exuberance. It’s the last work of my “early” phase when the works were not initially written down in notation software – that came later. There are only two movements – the second includes a mainly pizzicato scherzo, some elements of a slow movement and a joyful coda.

1st allegro con fuoco
2nd scherzo –lento—coda giocoso 13’54”

the 6th symphony is the first to be written using notation software from the outset and marks a transition to a somewhat more contrapuntal and less chromatic style. Bruckner's 6th is known as his "kechste" and there are a lot of high spirits here but also reflective, more tragic and simply weird moments.

1. adagio -- allegro con fuoco
2. andante 18'07"
3. presto giocoso 32'35"

a rather vigorous rhythmical symphony in a somewhat neo-classical style. It lacks a scherzo.
1st movement: allegro con fuoco
2nd movement: moderato 8'14"
3rd movement: molto vivace 21'16"

Bruckner is for me the God of symphonists and this symphony is one of the ones that most show his influence
1. maestoso 0:00
2. adagio 16:05
3. scherzo and finale 34:37

rendering: Cinematic Studio

initially inspired by Sibelius 7th, this is the shortest of my symphonies and is in one movement though divided into five symmetrical sections with a central funereal dirge for brass flanked by two scherzi.

The first work in what was to become a trilogy written over a rather short space of time in summer 2018. The move in a rather post-romantic direction was initially inspired by the work of Silvestrov but in time, it was more Weinberg's "War Trilogy" of nos. 17-19 which gave the idea of "War" and "Peace" for 11 and 12. In this work, no.10, nature is still forming and experimenting though there are disturbing premonitions of things to come. Most of the material is based on the initial motif in the celesta.

1. awakening 0:00
2. scherzo 8:14
3. adagio 11:39

Part of a trilogy nos. 10-12 inspired increasingly by Weinberg's War trilogy 17-19, and written in quick succession in the summer of 2018, this one, which could be subtitled "War", is uncharacteristically brutal and bleak

timings:
scherzo 9:17
adagio lamentoso 12:19
coda 23:11

the concluding part of the trilogy with subtitle "Peace" this indebted to Weinberg's 19th

probably my most modern symphony in the sense it runs in four movements without a break and is gradually built up from just two motifs heard early on and owes very little to classical models. The idea came from the "Mystery of time" by Czech composer Kabeláč

most recent symphony inspired by Dr. Alexander Brincken's wonderfully uplifting lyrical 4th symphony. A return to a more conventional classic/romantic model and melody for the sake of melody

movement timings
1. maestoso 0:00
2. adagio 15:48
3. scherzo 34:28
4. rondo finale 41:58

created with Cinematic Studio orchestra

this work is largely based on the initial motifs in the harpsichord as well as the later scale-like motion in the strings. The first movement combines a mad dance with more vegetative sections and the second is largely tragic in character.

second movement 11'12"

although not at all directly programmatic, there is something of the theme of a contrast between nature which can be alternately soothing and threatening and the idealistic strivings of humanity. The "Nachtmusik" is perhaps suggestive of a nocturnal woodland scene. Much of the work is based on the initial harp motif which undergoes various transformations.

1. Sturm und Drang
2. Nachtmusik -- scherzo-- Nachtmusik -- coda 16'11"

I got the idea for this work from an atmospheric recent piece for cello and piano called "Rain" by Steve Elcock. For some time, I wasn't quite sure where I was going but in the end things materialised around the general theme of Scottish weather -- hence the subtitle "Scotorum Tempestas". Although it's not only about the weather, the varying moods provide the main focus and the whole work is based around the motifs heard right at the outset. The first movement is the most wide-ranging in mood and in "Spring breezes" there is a distinct idea of lambs, birds etc at play (and just occasionally quarrelling as things go on). The last movement which refers to the never completely dark summer nights was added a couple of weeks later but also has, particularly in the central section, a yearning quality for something which seems always just out of reach. In the end, the whole is more than just tone painting

1. Storm and sunshine
2. Fog and ice 7' 49"
3. Spring breezes 15' 36"
4. Simmer Dim 21'44"

Holst has done The Planets, Nielsen The Four Temperaments but I don't know of a complete Zodiac cycle so I created a pretty irreverent version quite a while back in around 2005. Most of these are often (but not always) unflattering portraits of the signs, one or two of the earliest like Gemini or Sagittarius had a specific impetus like recycling my very earliest doodlings on the keyboard. The timings of the individual portraits are as follows:
Aries 0:00
Taurus 3:17
Gemini 7:32
Cancer 11:58
Leo 16:45
Virgo 21:10
Libra 24:05
Scorpio 29:40
Sagittarius 34:00
Capricorn 38:34
Aquarius 43:58
Pisces 47:53

a fairly pastoral, introspective orchestral work but which does have a few outbursts.

introduction
meditation 3'38"

the string serenade has a rather sentimental nostalgic character, though not without some high spirits.

1. allegretto
2. valse triste 5’45”
3. scherzo 10’49”
4. elegy 14’42”
5. vivace 22’12”

the "ancient instruments" include a glass harmonica, ophicleide and serpent supplied by the Vienna Symphonic library. The first movement of the work is actually based on a very early synthesizer improvisation called "techno" and the main theme for the slow movement came to me in a dream about our dog, Ruby
In the traditional three concerto movements:
1st techno
2nd 7:09 romanza rubyana
3rd 16:27 allegro con moto

a work I've called "Tallinn" after the Orchestral Tools library I used for the mock-up which specialises in rather lush but almost vibrato-less strings which can create quite a haunting atmosphere. This three movement work combines at times uneasy striving, moody soundscapes and somewhat tragic reminiscences. It seems to end cheerfully, but then so does Shostakovich's 15th.
2nd movement 11:52
3rd movement 17:36