Adagio (After the fires)
Adagio (After the fires) for cello and piano was programmed in the 2023 Tyalgum Music Festival and premiered on 1 October by Trish Dean (cello) and Anna Grinberg (piano). Written as a compliment to other works in that programme by Manuel de Falla, Henriëtte Bosmans, and Claude Debussy, I was first inspired by an idea in my first symphony's slow movement. On a recent road trip, I traversed the road from Bright to Mount Hotham, which was devastated by bushfires in 2003. In light of the Black Summer Bushfires in 2019 and 2020, which were the major impetus for my first symphony, I was stunned by the ghosts that lingered in the shape of massive trees that were burnt almost 20 years beforehand but still stood as memorials to past beauty.
Thumbnail image by New Matilda, shared under a CC BY 2.0 license.
History
ERA Category
- Original Creative Work - Musical Composition
Eligible major research output?
- Yes
Research Statement
Adagio (After the fires) for cello and piano was programmed in the 2023 Tyalgum Music Festival. Written as a compliment to other works in that programme by Manuel de Falla, Henriëtte Bosmans, and Claude Debussy, I was first inspired by an idea in my first symphony's slow movement. On a recent road trip, I traversed the road from Bright to Mount Hotham, which was devastated by bushfires in 2003. In light of the Black Summer Bushfires in 2019 and 2020, which were the major impetus for my first symphony, I was stunned by the ghosts that lingered in the shape of massive trees that were burnt almost 20 years beforehand but still stood as memorials to past beauty. While there is a plethora of Australian works for cello and piano, Adagio is one of a few virtuosic entries of a sombre nature. The form of the piece follows that of the main oboe solo in the slow movement of my Symphony No. 1, and the mood is reminiscent of the cello works of Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke. This was my first work for cello and piano, and one of my earliest works for a solo instrument with piano. Therefore, front of mind were the combined challenges of balance and inner voice detailing. For instance, at the beginning, both instruments are in their lowest register, which comes with the possibility of an overly muddled texture. Yet, I made sure that the colour of the cello cuts through. I was also aware that later in the piece, loud passages in the middle range of the piano would drown out the cello. Keeping the cello on the A string—its highest and most resonant string—mitigated this risk, allowing both instruments to sound at their fullest. The process of exploring and overcoming these challenges helped my imagination develop in terms of a smaller, though seriously dense, form and sound world. Programmed in the 2023 Tyalgum Music Festival, Adagio was premiered by cellist Trish Dean and pianist Anna Grinberg on 1 October, 2023. It was subsequently performed by the same musicians on 22 February, 2024, at the Nickson Room, University of Queensland, Brisbane. This piece will be published through the Australian Music Centre and available from mid-2024.Copyright notes
© 2023 Paul DeanPerformance size
- Group
Number of work performers
2Was the work disseminated?
- Yes
Form of dissemination
- Public performance