SKU: PR.414411630

ISBN 9781491114551. UPC: 680160089956. 9.5 x 13 inches.

EXCURSIONS is a one-movement work exploring two “characters.” A rhapsodic, descending passage is introduced by the cello, followed by a  static, chorale-like phrase for the violin and cello. Their individual developments are separated by a slow, contrasting middle section. The composer has written: “This is analogous to situations in life: we stand by a crossroad, choosing one option and forfeiting the other. But in art, the realm of the imagination, we can perhaps afford to pursue more than one route to its ultimate destination… or can we? It is symbolic that in this work both roads eventually lead to the same place.”.
Excursions for violin, cello and piano, is a one-movement work of tripartite structure in which materials explored in the first of three large sections are brought back in the last section.  The traditional statement-contrast-restatement form, which is readily suggested by such a description, is, however, not at all in the mold in which the work is cast.  Rather, my aim was to subject the essential materials of the piece (two “characters” –the rhapsodic, descending passage played by the cello in the very opening and, later, a static, slow moving, chorale-like phrase for the violin and cello) to two entirely different developments separated by a slow, contrasting middle section.  This is analogous to an exploration of the ramifications that two divergent choices made by the same person might lead to.  In life, as we stand by a crossroad, choosing one option usually means having to forfeit the other.  But in art, the realm of the imagination, we can perhaps afford to pursue more than one route to its ultimate destination…or can we?  It is, I believe, symbolic that in this work both roads eventually lead to the same place: in composing Excursions, it seemed absolutely inescapable that at the end the slow, contrasting middle sections – both more resigned and peaceful than the battling spirits of the outer parts – should return briefly to end the work. The piano trio combination (once highly favored, but to this composer still as challenging today) is approached here as a collaborative effort of three equal soloists – partners.  Of the available pairings, the two strings find themselves occasionally approached as a team pitted against the piano.  The cello-piano combination is also not uncommon here, and there is an extended violin cadenza toward the end of the piece.  The writing for the three instruments is closely and at times interlinked, but the players are all instructed to play from scores. Excursions was first performed at Brandeis University in 1982.

SKU: DY.DO-1525

ISBN 9782897963057.

J'aime les formes musicales concises telles que le Prélude et la Fugue, où il y a une idée claire et directe, suivie d'une autre plus complexe et développée.

Conformément à cette idée, cette œuvre se compose de deux pièces distinctes, la première - Transfigured Life - vise à attirer l'auditeur avec son rythme rapide et dansant et sa partie de violon simple et mélodique. Il se «transfigure» via quelques courts intermèdes au piano solo en seulement deux notes alternées pour terminer - qui sont le cœur de l'idée originale, maintenant clarifiée en effaçant tout le reste.

Le deuxième morceau - Still Life - conserve son sentiment de quiétude grâce à une ligne de piano simple qui laisse beaucoup d'espace à la partie contrastée (mais encore une fois simple) du violon. En tant que pièce absolue et non programmatique, le titre fait référence uniquement à la couleur et au rythme atmosphériques ; c'est à l'auditeur de voir la « nature morte » de son choix dans son esprit.

Une note sur les performances :
Malgré ma référence à des lignes « simples » et l'évitement déterminé par l'œuvre des grincements modernistes traditionnels, l'œuvre présente certains défis d'exécution en termes de phrasé et d'ensemble qui nécessitent des compétences et une musicalité considérables. L'œuvre a eu le privilège d'être récemment enregistrée par le violoniste Ezgi Sarıkcıoğlu et la pianiste Rossitza Stoycheva, et est disponible sur toutes les principales plateformes :

https://open.spotify.com/album/6p5YIe17ci0UMuo2RqZgjR
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/transfigured-life-still-life-world-premiere-recording/1738035953
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Transfigured Life - Still Life, Op. 165 (violin and piano) - David Braid

I am keen on concise musical forms such as Prelude and Fugue, where there is one clear straightforward idea, followed by another that is more involved and developed.

In keeping with that idea, this work consists of two distinct pieces, the first - Transfigured Life - aims to draw in the listener with its quick, dancing rhythm and simple, melodic violin part. It 'transfigures' via a few short solo piano interludes into just two alternating notes to end - which are the core of the original idea, now made clear by clearing everything else out of the way.

The second piece - Still Life - retains its sense of stillness through an uncomplicated piano line that gives lots of space for the violin's contrasting (but again simple) part. As an absolute, not programmatic, piece the title refers to the atmospheric colour and pacing only; it's up to the listener to see 'Still life' of their choosing in their own mind.

A note on performance:
Despite my reference to 'simple' lines, and the work's determined avoidance of mainstream modernist squeak - the work has certain performance challenges of phrasing and ensemble that requires considerable skill and musicianship. The work has had the privilege of being recently recorded by violinist Ezgi Sarıkcıoğlu and pianist Rossitza Stoycheva, and is available on all major platforms:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6p5YIe17ci0UMuo2RqZgjR
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/transfigured-life-still-life-world-premiere-recording/1738035953.

SKU: PR.164002390

UPC: 680160038091.

I became interested in the work of Plato through my friend and collaborator, the writer and philosopher Paul Woodruff. Paul's new translation, with Alexander Nehamas, of the Symposium gave me insights into ancient Greek ways of thinking about Love, Beauty, and Wisdom -- and managed to keep the earthy, and often bawdy side of it all in full view. But their new translation of Plato's later dialogue Phaedrus went even further: the beauty of the speeches is breathtaking, and the discourse itself is enough to keep one awake at night. Basically the Great Speech of Socrates in the Phaedrus dialogue has to do with the place of Eros in the world, and with the conflict in the soul between fleshly pleasure and philosophic discovery. I will not attempt to encapsulate this brilliant discourse in a program note: suffice it to say that reading it gave rise to my two-sided work for clarinet, violin, and piano, Phaedrus. The first movement represents the Philosophic life, and is thus subtitled Apollo's Lyre (Invocation and Hymn). It begins with an unaccompanied melody for the clarinet, which (after a pair of harp-like flourishes for the piano, expands into an accompanied canon. The voices in the dialogue (clarinet and violin) follow each other by a prescribed number of beats, but the music is totally devoid of any meter at all. The piano, representing the lyre, accompanies this lyric love-feast with repeated strummed chords. The canon has three large sections, and ends with violin echoing the unaccompanied clarinet invocation as the sound of the lyre fades. The second movement, called Dionysus' Dream-Orgy (Ritual Dance) presents, after a brief introduction, another kind of unmetered music. Rather than long lyric flights of philosophic song, however, this time we hear a unison dance of unbridled energy and sensual transport. The piece soon forms itself into a loose arch form, with contrasting metered dance sections divided by the unison unmetered orgy tune. Midway through the movement, Apollo's melody returns from the first movement, but it is a temporary reminiscence. The orgiastic dance returns, reaches a climax, and ends with a stomping of feet. While Plato asserts that a proper balance between lust and reason is necessary in all men, he (naturally) gives the nod to Philosophy as the better choice in which to live. Not so in my music: the two sides are meant to coexist and to complement each other. No sides are taken. Phaedrus was commissioned of the Verdehr Trio by Michigan State University. It is dedicated to the Vedehr Trio with great affection and admiration.

SKU: HL.49045822

ISBN 9781540024749. UPC: 888680737764. 9.25x12.0x0.29 inches.

The Kreutzer Sonata was originally dedicated not to Rudolphe Kreutzer (who never performed it) but to George Bridgetower, a famed 18th-century Afro-European concert violinist. In an early draft, Beethoven jokingly labeled the piece in starkly racialized terms: Sonata Mulattica composed for the mulatto Brischdauer, big wild mulatto composer.Beethoven and Bridgetower performed the premiere, which was by all accounts a success, and even featuring some improvised embellishment by the violinist. While celebrating afterwards, the two quarreled about what Beethoven construed as Bridgetower's insult of a female acquaintance; the composer then revoked the original dedication, adding Kreutzer's name instead. The work gained acclaim, while Bridgetower's career languished; he eventually died in poverty.Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, most notably in poet Rita Dove's book, Sonata Mulattica. From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower's unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger and, finally, erasure.My piece is a collection of imaginings about George Bridgetower. It is not programmatic, but it takes on an episodic character, assembled from contrasting fragments. The dance rhythms, recurring figures and gestural contours are intended to feature the embodied expertise and expressivity of the performers, who at times must access liminal sounds and execute complex synchronies. I am grateful to Jenny Koh and Shai Wosner for involving me in their beautiful, virtuosic music-making.

SKU: AP.36-52710599

ISBN 9781633610040. UPC: 679360611654. English.

This volume continues the development of playing skills found in Book 1 and progresses to more complex rhythms, left-hand finger patterns and techniques, bowing techniques, and preparation for shifting. Book 2 introduces students to: long and controlled bow strokes, slurred legato and staccato bow strokes, string-crossing slurs, and producing dynamic contrasts; new rhythmic patterns including dotted notes, triplets, sixteenth notes, swinging eighth notes, and syncopated rhythms; new time signatures including 6/8 and 3/8, along with cut time for cello/bass; and major and minor left-hand string patterns, extended fingerings, and beginning octave harmonics and shifting. Online audio available.

These products are currently being prepared by a new publisher. While many items are ready and will ship on time, some others may see delays of several months.

SKU: OU.9780193592735

ISBN 9780193592735. 12 x 9 inches.

Frederick Grinke (the dedicatee) and the pianist Michael Mullinar premiered this sonata in 1954. The opening Fantasia contrasts a rhythmic piano figure with a slow flowing theme on the violin, while the second movement is a march-like Scherzo.

SKU: HL.49014396

ISBN 9790220107467.