J Joe Townley: Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor Opus 2

[Alan Howe]

Joe, would you oblige us, please?

[YankeeMusic]

Yes, Mr. Townley, please do so.

Really would be interested in the birth and nurturing of these two lovely concertos.

[J Joe Townley]

I, for one, would be interested to know more of Mr. Townley's credentials.  In other words, what experience does he have and how has he been able to produce not one, but two, full-blown scores for piano concertos?  How long did it take him to compose these?  How long has he been writing music?  When were they written and who produced the professionally-printed score? 

No doubt they are appealing works, but one has to realize what background in music is necessary to do this.  It simply does not equate.

And the comments about "avant gard" (sic) and our "advance" beyond tonality are not what this collector is encountering.  More and more contemporary composers are returning to lyrical forms.  I could list a batch, but will not bore this intelligent audience with that.
 

Hi Yankee and Alan

let's see.....

Played piano when I was a kid up to about 19 when I seriously injured my RH forefinger. Stumbled along; got a BA in music but eventually gave up music entirely and went into business (designing & building homes as an investor). No music from about 1980 to 2004 when I started practicing again just to see where I was far as hand function goes. Some videos on YouTube of me playing back circa 2005; you can see my forefinger sticking up in the air because I cannot control the nerve network in it. Eventually had to give piano up altogether circa 2007. Fast forward to 2010. An innocuous tune pops into my head (main theme of Concerto No 1)  I decide, "Hey, you always wanted to write a piano concerto, why not do it?" So I get Noteflight online music program and start teaching myself by trial and error how to write for orchestra. When I feel confident enough I start setting down the piano concerto, but the finished product is not what I initially had in mind far as quality goes, so I immediately embark on Piano Concerto No 2. This time I feel I got what I was after, quality-wise. At any rate the experience has exhausted me and aggravated my damaged finger terribly---hundreds of thousands of mouse clicks putting the scores together using my bad finger because I am RH'ed. So I give up composing, feeling I've said all I really had to say that is worthwhile and anything else I composed would be trash. One year for the 1st and one year for the 2nd (1.5 years if you consider a major revision on the 2nd). No composing, orchestrating  credentials, unfortunately--self taught reading orchestral scores over a number of years.

[Alan Howe]

It's very good of you to share all this with us, Joe. I sincerely hope your PC2 will soon be performed - and then recorded.

[semloh]

Yes, thanks Joe. I am looking forward to listening to the concerto on YT.

I see there is also some background on your page at the Composers' Forum:
http://composersforum.ning.com/profile/JoeTownley
I take it you are the handsome fellow in the picture upper left?

[J Joe Townley]

@Alan: my pleasure, Alan. I hope so too.

@semloh: yes, that's me but many, many moons ago. 

[YankeeMusic]

Thanks, Joe.  I would love to have a CD of the concerto.

Good luck.

[J Joe Townley]

Thanks, Joe.  I would love to have a CD of the concerto.

Good luck.
 

When Hyperion picks it up I will certainly send you one, Yankee.