BY CELINE CHONG
Paul Dean has written a brand new Concerto for Cello and Wind Quintet. It might very well be the first of its kind in the world.
It’s also a piece that he wrote for his partner, cellist Trish O’Brien.
The musical duo (and life duo) will power through their first concert together of their 2018 Ensemble Q season. The pair founded this group as a way to put Brisbane on the chamber music map. Before they perform (with special guest violinist Dale Barltrop and Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University double bass student Bryn Keane), Paul sits down for a chat. We learn about what it’s like to program a concert that includes a work for the one you treasure most of all.
For your first concert this year, you’re performing Ravel, Glazunov, Mendelssohn, and your own Concerto for Cello and Wind Quintet – that sounds like a very colourful program! What were some of your influences in programming these works? Why did you want to program these historic compositions alongside your new piece?
Programming a series like ours is about paring works that complement and challenge each other; and deliver a vast array of contrasting colours and moods in an attempt to deliver a concert that lives and breathes from the first note. Changing the the line-up of instruments for every piece really accentuates this journey.
For me personally, a concert of all-classical or all-romantic music for the same line-up of instruments is enough to turn me off going to a concert. I want our concerts to be exhilarating and electric, and putting this list of works together is part of the ingredients for that. Bringing the musicians together who deliver every note with passion and understanding is the other main ingredient.
Your Concerto for Cello and Wind Quintet is the first of its kind in the world. Tell us a bit about how this piece came about, and your process for writing it.
The cello is without doubt my favourite instrument – I even tried to learn it unsuccessfully in high school. When that coincides with the fact that it is played by my favourite person, it is a no-brainer that I wanted to write a piece such as this. I have written a few pieces that feature the cello to this point, but this has been a wholly different process and a work of pure indulgence and love. It is more than possible that no such work of music as a concerto for cello with wind quintet exists. And whilst that is exciting, it is also daunting that maybe I don’t know what I am doing, and others have tried before and failed at such a ridiculous suggestion.
Most of my music has a theme or story behind it, yet this piece is pure music for music’s sake. And whilst it contains images of some of Trish and my favourite things, there is no underlying story or scheme behind the music. It was, as music composition is, a joy and a frustration in equal measure, and ultimately I have had a ball practising and rehearsing it with my extraordinary colleagues.
Talk us through the movements.
The first movement takes its name from one of the frustrating moments. (WWBD) What would Brahms do? I exclaimed in hope that someone would reach out and help. Too many ideas, too much going on, as usual! I then had ‘a’ moment listening to Ensemble Q play the Brahms A major Piano Quartet at Ukaria in South Australia that drew the line in the sand. If ever there was a piece by the complete master of chamber music that should provide a blueprint for writing music, it is that one. Of course, it is nothing like Brahms but his spirit took me by the throat and shook me into the realisation that the first movement was rubbish! The delete button is such a friend and enemy! But I pressed it to a good portion of the nonsense that was before me and started again (after completing the entire work). And got help from my favourite composer of the moment, William Walton. [His] name also really appears in the title of the movement along with my father Barry Dean, who showed me to sit back and listen to the instruments and the possibilities of colour and stop trying so hard! The first movement is still dense and exploratory in a way that such a new combination deserves, and highlights the virtuosity of my dedicatee in a way she deserves.
The second movement basically just laid itself out in front of me one morning on our daily constitutional with our two dogs Mia and Bear. Over our local park there is a phenomenal collection of Leopard Trees and, in the early light of the Brisbane summer day, creates a canopy and explosion of light and colour that takes my breath away every morning. As one of our favourite places, it had to appear in this piece.
The third movement is my attempt to write music that, whilst complex, is also fun to play and to listen to. I have been completely obsessed with the music of Les Six for over three decades and in particular, the music of Francis Poulenc. Whilst the second Viennese School were strutting their stuff and the post-Wagner and post-Debussy world were also battling it out, Poulenc and his friends made remarkable music that enticed, entertained, and moved audiences in a way so entirely their own that no other group or school of composers ever did. The playfulness between the instruments and the complex and intricate rhythm is central to the drama and humour and virtuosity of the combination of friends (some new, some lifetime) here on stage performing it together.
Why was it important for you to compose a piece for Trish, and why now?
We really click together as people and musicians, and I guess that is backbone of why Ensemble Q is working so well. Every note of every work I have written together in the last three years has been discussed, debated, and wrought out with Trish by my side. So it was a total pleasure to have that discussion with the performer as well this time. Despite the odd disagreement on a few ‘clarinet-like passages’ written for the cello, it has been a real joy.
And working so closely with your partner Trish must’ve been a unique experience. Were there any moments that were particularly memorable or funny?
This is really a piece from the heart, and highlights many aspects of our beautiful life together – the fun, the walks, the discussions, the love for music and ultimately for each other.
The one moment that I’ll remember about the writing process is the feeling of shared relief and joy when I finally got the opening right in terms of pacing and feeling. The look I got from Trish – no words needed, at that moment – meant the world to me!
Finally, what do you hope to convey to your audience? And where do you see Ensemble Q heading from here?
Our real desire is to give audiences wonderfully eclectic and imaginative programs that move them and transport them to a beautiful place, played by some of the best musicians in the country.
The future is extremely exciting for EQ. We are already in programming mode for 2019 with an extremely exciting line-up of repertoire, performers, and activities. But they are all still very much under wraps, so we can’t tell you quite yet! The continued development of our mentorship program is vital for the future of music and musicians in Australia, and this will drive us into running string schools and three-tiered programs through all levels of music education in Queensland. Sometimes it’s so exciting, we discuss ideas well into the night – and wake up early after our subconscious minds have had a go, and start going again first up on our morning dog walk. It’s a great place to be!
See this piece performed in Ensemble Q – Concert 1, 7.30pm Conservatorium Theatre, Queensland Conservatorium.
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