This is an NGADM Round 1 review.
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Wow, now this is a surprise. I've heard some of your other music, including of course your audition, and all of it was certainly well-made but never compositionally complex. In fact, Dear Mario was (probably intentionally) made to sound simple, with plain chords that never really try to sound sophisticated, and then you come in with a technically flawless, complex and incredibly well-composed piece of classical piano music out of NOWHERE. This is very, very good. You move between sections and even entirely different moods and keys so effortlessly that it leaves me in awe. And naturally, the excellent instrument samples you used are just icing to the cake.
It took me a few listens to find flaws in this, but I found that even after listening to it various times and then turning it off, it doesn't quite remain in my memory. You've got such masterful progression and you've squeezed in plenty of different sections in a track that conventionally isn't very long (by modern standards), but the fact that you don't have any central theme can make this ultimately forgettable, and sometimes a bit directionless. I understand that not having a leitmotif is a stylistic choice of the musician, but over here I don't think it quite gives the track the lasting impact it deserves.
Really though, I'm only trying to nitpick. You've got very strong melodic content here and I'm impressed! Keep up the great work.
Score: 9.6/10
