Traumblätter (Dream Leaves)
Traumblätter (Dream Leaves) (2007)
Recently I sat down at the piano for an hour and played through a thick collection of Robert Schumann’s short pieces. Strange but true: in modern music one hardly ever comes across a character piece. This observation gave me the idea of writing a commissioned work for piano four hands as a collection of short pieces entitled Dream Leaves. Anything can happen in a dream – this realization gave me a wonderful feeling of freedom during the composition process. Robert Schumann: thanks.
1. Das unruhige Einschlafen (Falling asleep restlessly), 1'50
2. Traumtropfen (Dreamdrops), 3'14
3. Traum des Mädchens am Spinnrad (Dream of a girl at the spinning-wheel), 1'38
4. Traum der Geliebten die sich nicht verstehen können (Dream of the beloved who cannot agree), 2'57
5. Ungeduldiger Traumwächter (Impatient Watchman of Dreams), 1'10
6. Déjà-entendu Traum (‘Déjà-entendu’ Dream), 2'04
7. Karussell nächtlicher Gedanken (Merry-go-round of nightly thoughts), 2'45
8. Letzter süsser Traum des Lebens (Last sweet Dream of Life), 3'33
World premiere: July 27th 2008 in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw/Amsterdam during the Robeco series (5 movements)
First performance complete work: October 26th 2008 in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ