Variations on a melancholy theme [compact disc]
2021
Music
The recording features the pianist/composer and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, who commissioned this orchestral version of the work, which comprises a theme and eleven variations plus a cadenza and postlude; the album also includes an encore, "Variations 'X' and 'Y.'" (Mehldau originally composed Variations on a Melancholy Theme for pianist Kirill Gerstein.). Mehldau and Orpheus toured Europe, Russia, and the US with the piece, including a 2013 performance at Carnegie Hall. Speaking to the combination of classical form with jazz harmonies in the work's musical language, Mehldau wrote, "I imagine it as if Brahms woke up one day and had the blues."Mehldau continues, "The theme itself has a wistful character, perhaps a feeling of resignation. There is some sense of finality and ending to it when heard for the first time already. So as I composed, a narrative challenge emerged; namely, how to embark on a story that begins with a conclusion. While the theme evokes melancholy, I let it be used as a springboard for other happy, wild, violent, and reckless emotions as the variations progress."
Main title:
Variations on a melancholy theme [compact disc] / Brad Mehldau and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Author:
Mehldau, Brad, composerOrpheus Chamber Orchestra, instrumentalist
Imprint:
[New York] : Nonesuch, [2021]
Collation:
1 audio disc (34 min.) : CD audio, stereo ; 4 3/4 in.
Notes:
Music composed by Brad Mehldau.
Credits:
Produced by Adam Abeshouse.
Performers:
Brad Mehldau, piano ; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Contents:
ThemeVariation 1Variation 2Variation 3Variation 4Variation 5Variation 6Variation 7Variation 8Variation 9Variation 10Variation 11CadenzaPostludeEncore: Variations 'X' & 'Y'.
Dewey class:
785.065
Language:
English
BRN:
717470
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathleen Syme Carlton | CD Music Jazz | JAZZ VARI | Available |