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The Wheel of Harmonic Affections
How every chord change carries an emotional direction, and why that changes everything about how you write music. What the Wheel Is Few would dispute that the purpose of music is the emotion it gives to performer and audience. Fewer still would dispute that in tonal music, emotion is carried primarily by harmony. It follows, then, that harmony ought to be understood in felt terms; that a system of chords should also be a system of emotion. Traditional Western music theory has

Stavros First
Mar 195 min read


Soundly Organized Humanity
A Meditation on Music and Meaning. In my studies of music, I have often heard and contemplated the question of “where does the meaning of...

Stavros First
Aug 22, 20232 min read


BREAKTHROUGH - Out Now 🔥
Inspired by epic film scores, “Breakthrough” represents a new era of my composing style, fusing traditional and modern instruments and...

Stavros First
Jul 20, 20231 min read


Winter Moon 🌚
Even though the majority of my pieces are in the classical style, I also enjoy composing and performing jazz. I recently completed Winter...

Stavros First
Nov 21, 20211 min read


Forgotten Waltz
Sometimes memories of people and places of the past suddenly come to mind; the Portuguese call this feeling "Saudade". I was...

Stavros First
Oct 21, 20211 min read


The Glen - huh? 🤨
"You, a classical composer, wrote a song for Electric Guitar, Bass, and Drums? You have betrayed us!" <—A common response to my newest...

Stavros First
Jun 1, 20212 min read


Byzantine Chant: New Page
https://www.stavrosfirstcomposer.com/byzantine-chant One of the biggest inspirations for my music is the Byzantine Chant tradition. It is...

Stavros First
Mar 25, 20211 min read


Alpha - EP
My latest EP, "Alpha", features an array of recently-completed pieces, mostly for piano and violin. "Για Πάντα" means "forever" in Greek....

Stavros First
Mar 1, 20211 min read


HIRAETH - December Composition Survey Piece Completed.
Last December, I held a composition survey and asked my listeners what they would like composed. Many responses were recorded, and the...

Stavros First
Jan 20, 20211 min read


The Piano Book
My newest album, The Piano Book (Deluxe), features all of my most popular piano compositions from 2020, plus a few surprises. You can...

Stavros First
Dec 30, 20201 min read


Don't "B Flat"—Read this Post!
Every few months, I hold a survey and ask my listeners what kind of music they would like composed. I will compose a piece based on the...

Stavros First
Dec 2, 20201 min read


Rêverie, Op. 11
The word reverie refers to being in a daydream-like state; to not focus on the present, but rather muse about the possibilities of the...

Stavros First
Nov 14, 20201 min read


Autumn & When All Falls Silent
The first part of my "Four Seasons" project, Autumn, has just been released to Spotify and Apple Music! So far, it has been one of my...

Stavros First
Oct 25, 20201 min read


Thera
I recently recorded and released a piece for piano, cello, violin and flute based off a Greek folk song. The piano opens the piece, and...

Stavros First
Oct 14, 20201 min read


Ecce Novum Released
My latest piece for piano, Ecce Novum, has been released! It is a waltz for piano that features slow, melodic notes at the exposition and...

Stavros First
Sep 28, 20201 min read


Theme and Variation on a Russian Folk Song Published
Theme and Variation (piano, 4 hands) is based upon the old Russian folk song, Kalinka (Калинка). It starts off with a slow, rhythmic...

Stavros First
Sep 1, 20201 min read


Nuit, Op. 9 Published
Nuit means Night in French. This soothing piano piece evokes the feeling of looking up at an endless view of stars. Download the sheet...

Stavros First
Aug 29, 20201 min read


Πarthen Sound™ Company Created
I founded the Parthen Sound™ company in August of 2020. It aims to produce the highest-quality audio for musical releases. Look for the...

Stavros First
Aug 29, 20201 min read


"Gwydir Forest" String Quartet completed.
In the spring of 2020, I was commissioned by the RSC Conservatory to write a string quartet to be performed by the Meadowlark Trio...

Stavros First
Aug 22, 20201 min read
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