I added new pages: Symphony #1 and Piano Concerto #6
Symphony #1 in C minor
1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Andante con motto
3. Tempo de valse
4. Maestso
In the fall of 1979, I was composing pop songs and a very catchy Piano Sonata in C minor. I was using chord progressions that were commonly used in both rock and roll and early 19th century music. The sonata evolved into a string quartet and then I decided that this would be the material for my first symphony. I worked on it in Denton, Texas in 1979-1980 completing most of the first and second movements. I continued working on it in Los Angeles in 1981 while I was also creating my Piano Concerto #4. I completed the symphony in 1987.
How I was thrown out of school for writing a symphony
The first time the LA Times interviewed me, they launched an investigation into how I was expelled from the University of North Texas. This happened when I was ranked #1 in the piano department and had the top piano scholarship. The arts editor called me and said that she didn't believe what the university official was saying, that noone, including my piano professor, could remember what happened. They said that he was not available to speak with them.
Larry Walz, my piano professor, called me and told me that the piano department demanded that he not speak with the LA Times. They threatened to "make his life a living hell" if he did. Professor Walz offered to call the LA Times anyway, but I insisted that he not, because I didn't want him to be harassed by the other professors.
Here's what happened: I was having trouble creating my first symphony in the practice rooms because they were too noisy. Professor Walz, who taught at his house, offered me his teaching studio which was sound proofed. The other professors didn't like it. They proceeded to harass me on a daily basis. They would barge in, interrupting my concentration, and say things like "you can't be here," or "you have to leave now," or "I'm calling the university police and have you arrested." They questioned the legitimacy of the signed note from Larry Walz giving me permission to be there. This went on for months, even though Walz told them over and over at the piano faculty meetings to leave me alone.
Professor Walz's conslusion was: "They're jealous. They see in you what they could have been."
They know they were short changed on their education and they would never be smart enough to write a symphony. They had depression due to lack of self esteem and were acting out by harassing me as I created my music.
Professor Walz called me at the frat house and told me they were trying to concoct a scenario that would allow them to take away my scholarship or even expell me from school. I was president of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. They took issue with the fact that there was a motorcycle hanging from the tree in the front yard of our frat house. They said that it showed that I had a lack of moral character and that was incompatable with performance or study of classical music. It was wierd that they didn't complain about how we were known for throwing the wildest parties in Denton, Texas. Instead, they were obsessed with the motorcycle hanging from the tree which, by the way, our law students described as constitutionally protected free speech.
Professor Walz asked, "Isn't that a jewish fraternity?" I told him that it was and he said that he would tell the other professors that if they persue this, they would be accused of anti-semitism. They backed off, but another opportunity came upon later that semester.
In spite of what's writen in the press, I did perform my senior recital and it went very well. The final performance of each semester was called a "jury," a 25 minute public performance in the concert hall, mostly for the professors. The day before the jury, I got sick. I was throwing up and a little dizzy. I ran into a couple of friends who were piano majors and who had the same stomach flu. They told me that they asked the head of the piano department to move their jury to the end of the week and he did.
I asked the same guy, Professor Robins, to move my jury because I was sick. He refused, gleefully reminding me that if I didn't show up, I would get an "F" in piano.
The next day I woke up too sick to play Chopin's B minor Sonata, so I invited my Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity brothers to come watch me play Chopin with my elbows. A bunch of them showed up. It was quite a scene. I played the first 15 seconds as written. Then I did a series of forearm smashes on the steinway concert grand. One of these forearm smashes is featured in the finale of my Piano Concerto #9. (It's on YouTube and the video page of this website.) My fraternity brothers were very amused, telling me that every time I did a forearm smash, the stuffy classical professors were jolted in their seats, looking like someone gave them an electric shock. They finally had what they needed to justify expelling me. I couldn't care less.