RASCH (2019)
I., II., III.
violin, bassoon, percussion, and piano
7'
I., II., III.
violin, bassoon, percussion, and piano
7'
Robert Schumann, in his writings, created musical characters which represented extensions of his personality. There is Florestan, filled with passion and energy, Eusebius, who is dreamy, reserved, and a bit melancholy, and Master Raro, a noble, wise, and rational intermediary between the other two.
In my composition, I envisioned a further character, who I have named RASCH. RASCH, which also means brisk in German, is a capricious iconoclast, who is humorous, mischievous, shadowy, severe, bitter, bizarre, and sometimes frightening and unstable. I was inspired to think of such a character because, despite Schumann’s reputation as a quintessential Romantic composer, I think there is quite a bit in Schumann’s output that foreshadows modernism when one digs beneath the surface, and I’ve always been intrigued by the composer’s darker side.
Performances:
-Front Porch, National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY, July 28th, 2019.
In my composition, I envisioned a further character, who I have named RASCH. RASCH, which also means brisk in German, is a capricious iconoclast, who is humorous, mischievous, shadowy, severe, bitter, bizarre, and sometimes frightening and unstable. I was inspired to think of such a character because, despite Schumann’s reputation as a quintessential Romantic composer, I think there is quite a bit in Schumann’s output that foreshadows modernism when one digs beneath the surface, and I’ve always been intrigued by the composer’s darker side.
Performances:
-Front Porch, National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY, July 28th, 2019.