Brett Dean

Brett Dean ( born October 23, 1961 in Brisbane ) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor.

Biographical

Dean studied in Brisbane and from 1985 to 1999 member of the Berlin Philharmonic. He decided then to be a freelance artist. Since 2000 he has been living in Australia, but to experience as a composer and musician on many concert stages around the world.

Dean is married to the painter Heather Betts and often occurs together with his brother, clarinettist Paul Dean.

Dean's clarinet concerto Ariel's Music from 1995 has been awarded by the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, Winter Songs for tenor and wind quintet received the 2001 Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize; Moments of Bliss for orchestra was awarded the Australian Classical Music Awards 2005 as the best composition. 2002/ 03 was Dean Artist in Residence at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Composer-in- Residence at the Cheltenham Festival, 2007/ 08 Artist in the Radio -Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR in Residence; He also holds honorary doctorates from Griffith University in Brisbane and Artistic Director at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. He received the Grawemeyer Award for "Musical Composition 2009" for his violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing and the Stoeger Prize from 2010 to 2011 for his chamber work.

Compositions

Dean's first own works dating from 1988 - in addition to arrangements, he first created radio and film music and collaborated on projects with improvisation. There are now numerous works mainly in the genres of orchestral, chamber music and solo concerts. Dean's most famous work is inspired by the music of Gesualdo Carlo for strings, sampler and tape. His opera Bliss on a novel by Peter Carey was premiered in March 2010 at the Sydney Opera House; conducted by Simone Young 's work will open the 2010/2011 season at the Hamburg State Opera.

Typical of Dean's compositional style are made ​​dynamic sound surfaces arising from a differentiated tissue rhythmic individual voices; Extreme often be designed from the flash onset to inaudibility. A characteristic feature is the use of modern, sometimes noise -like game techniques to generally classical instruments, but often with large occupied and enriched by everyday objects percussion. Many works are inspired by extra-musical ideas (literature, painting, current affairs ), they often carry a socio- political message; as environmental destruction is the theme Water Music and Pastoral Symphony, or the turmoil of the modern information society are discussed in Vexations and Devotions.

List of Works

• One of a Kind - Ballet in three acts for solo cello and tape (1998)
• Bliss - Opera ( 2010)

• Carlo - Music for strings, sampler and tape (1997)
• Beggars and Angels Music for Orchestra ( 1999)
• Amphitheatre - Scene for Orchestra ( 2000)
• Etudes hard for string orchestra with piano off-stage (2000)
• Game over for instrumental solos, string orchestra and electronics ( 2000)
• Pastoral Symphony for chamber orchestra (2000)
• Dispersal for Orchestra ( 2001)
• Shadow Music for small orchestra (2002)
• Between Moments - Music for orchestra, in memory of Cameron Retchford (2003)
• Ceremonial for Orchestra ( 2003)
• Moments of Bliss for Orchestra ( 2004)
• Party - Music for Orchestra Groups and Video ( 2004/ 05)
• Short Stories - Five Interludes for String Orchestra ( 2005)
• Komarov 's Fall for orchestra (2005/ 06)
• Testament - music for orchestra, after Originelfassung for 12 violas (2008)

• Nobody Talks Just for Viola and Piano, composed by Simon Hunt ( 1987)
• Do not Wake Mother - miniature for piano (1991 )
• Ariel's Music for Clarinet and Orchestra ( 1995)
• Viola Concerto ( 2004)
• Water Music for saxophone quartet and chamber orchestra (2004)
• The Lost Art of Letter Writing for Violin and Orchestra ( 2006)
• The Siduri Dances - Music for solo flute and string orchestra ( 2007)

• Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss, arr for Octet (1988 )
• Turnaround time ( Homage to FC ) for 5 violas (1988 )
• SomeBirthday ... for 2 violas and cello (1992 )
• Night Window - Music for Clarinet, Viola and Piano ( 1993)
• Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks by Richard Strauss, arr for Octet (1995 )
• Twelve Angry Men for 12 Cellos ( 1996)
• Voices of Angels for Strings and Piano ( 1996)
• Intimate Decisions for viola solo ( 1996)
• Night's Journey for 4 trombones (1997)
• Three Pieces for Eight Horns (1998)
• Dog hundreds and thousands of passing (1999)
• Winter Songs for tenor and wind quintet (2000)
• Huntington Eulogy for Cello and Piano ( 2001)
• Testament for 12 violas (2002)
• Eclipse for string quartet (2003)
• Three Caprichos after Goya for solo guitar (2003)
• Equality for piano (with narration ) (2004 )
• Demons for solo flute (2004)
• Prayer for piano (with narration ) (2005 )
• Recollections for ensemble (2006)
• Polysomnography - Music for Piano and Wind Quintet (2007)
• Dream Sequence - Music for ensemble ( 2008)
• String Quintet (2009)

• Cat and sparrow for eight-part mixed choir (1999/2002)
• Bell and anti - Bell (From Parables, Lullabies and Secrets ) for children's choir and small orchestra (2001)
• Tracks and Traces - Four songs for children's choir on texts Australian Aborigine (2002)
• Vexations and Devotions for choirs and large orchestra (2005)
• Now Comes the Dawn for mixed choir (2007)
• The Annunciation for four -to twelve- part choir and small orchestra (2011 /12)

• Buy Now, Pay Later! by Tim Freedman, arr for voice and ensemble (2002)
• Sparge la morte for solo cello, Vokalkonsort and tape (2006)
• Poems and Prayers for mezzo- soprano and piano (2006)
• Wolf Songs for soprano and ensemble ( 2006)
• Songs of Joy for baritone and orchestra (2008)