Eugene Den Hoed
Les Productions D’Oz: 12 pages
Eugene den Hoed is one of the most prolific and the most satisfying writers of the present day. I now have a good many of his volumes and they all are extremely playable, so that, no matter how difficult, (and some are very easy, and some tricky, and every standard in between) they fit wonderfully well under the fingers. This latest volume is a re-print, as the original publisher Evocation fell apart some time ago.
Set in three movements, so that it feels like a Sonata in shape, it opens with an Allegretto in C major, full of interesting yet very Mozart – like harmonies. I would say that it was moderately difficult in standard, and full of interesting details and musical ideas, and coming from a lover of all styles of music, and all periods of classical, but actually is a hater of Mozart above nearly all other composers, it is quite a feat of our composer here, to make this a lovely interesting piece of writing for me!
The second movement Andante Cantabile is set in G Major, and is stately, and melodic with a lovely melody and harmonies. It finishes on a G7 chord, with a pause, and an ‘attacca’ instruction to go straight into the final movement, an Allegro Vivace which moves around in mostly semi – quavers and is a lot of fun if perhaps the hardest of the three movements. It builds to a fine climax, and closes in an effective and utterly Mozartian way on a perfect cadence in C Major
This is highly enjoyable, full of very guitaristic features, and yet manages to sound like a Mozart piece too. Many players will get lots of enjoyment from this fine piece from this clever composer.
Chris Dumigan
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