A consuming display of narrative instrumentation, “Sad but Beautiful” is a lovely neoclassical single from Milanese composer Richard Green. Part of his ambitious instrumental trilogy, the composition beautifully juxtaposes a playful pop piano performance by Irene Veneziano with the solemn, throwback classical flourishes of the Archimia string quartet, masterfully blending contrasting emotional shades into a brightly romantic, grandly cinematic finale.

The track’s production stirs in its emotional range, as reflected aptly in its title. A playful piano progression melds with solemn strings for the first beautiful tonal contrast, while the strings expand quickly thereafter into an added layer with more vibrant flourishing. The strings continue to strut a throwback-friendly classical feeling in their direction, while the piano exudes an effervescent pop-friendly allure in its variety of melodic pulsations and trickling intrigue.

The two-minute turn consumes particularly in the continued absorbing piano and strings interplay, achieving a brightly romantic breeziness there before driving into a moment of sole piano elegance, then pushing into a finale that embraces the strings’ dynamic presence further, interchanging from feelings of grandiose emotion and more subdued, dreamy atmospherics. “Sad but Beautiful” is another standout composition from Richard Green, who has caught our ears in the past with tracks like “Wrinkles” and “Midnight.”

—

The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Rainy Days and Late Night Drives.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

The post Richard Green – “Sad but Beautiful” appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.