| Composer: | Paul Brantley |
| Publisher: | Bill Holab Music |
| Duration: | 00:00:00 |
| Instrumentation: | for Cello and Piano |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Work Type: | Cello and Piano |
My Dream of the lost Schumann Romances (which Clara burned) is just that: about ninety percent a transcription of a dream I had where the young Brahms, Robert, and Clara (dressed as Harlequin!) all take turns performing Schumann’s lost work for cello and piano.
As a little background, we do know that Robert composed his “Romances for cello and piano” shortly before he was institutionalized — a piece which, sadly, didn’t escape one of Clara’s editorial bonfires! Which might explain why the piano in my dream was on fire most of the time. Why my dream also featured a famous 60’s guitar solo and a recently composed love song of mine (all “re-contextualized” in the dream of course) is harder to explain. But that this dream endlessly looped around, nightmare fashion, allowed me happily (upon waking) to remember and transcribe this singular experience.
composerbiography: PaulBrantley
Paul Brantley is a six-time MacDowell Fellow with fellowships from Banff Centre and Anderson Center. Composition seminars at Yale, Hunter College, Gabriel Fauré Conservatoire, U. of Michigan, University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Recent performances of his music by Flux Quartet, soprano Ariadne Greif, Horszowski Trio, The Knights (at Tanglewood, BRIC, Dumbarton Oaks and Naumburg Concerts), classical guitarist Dan Lippel, Memphis Symphony, Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, New Esterházy Quartet, RiverArts Ensemble, and flutist Alice Teyssier.
His cello concertino, The Royal Revolver, was premiered in 2017 by Eric Jacobsen (The Knights) and the University of Michigan Symphony conducted by Kenneth Kiesler. Filles de l’Élysée was released on the 2022 Boyd Meets Girl CD (Sono Luminous/Naxos). His Aliénor Competition commission, Yeeremynd for solo harpsichord, was premiered by Steve Beck in June 2022 at HKANA. The Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra, with soprano Jennifer Zetlan, gave the 25th anniversary performance of his On the Pulse of Morning also in June 2022. 2023. Centennial Commission from The Curtis Institute of Music.