Dreamsonata; or, I Hear America Playing the Violin
Paul Epstein
About this work:
A gumbo of American styles, high, low, and in-between...In fact, I'd like to go far beyond the whole uesless, segregationist idea of musical "styles"...not that I've abjured cultural references: this is definitely not "abstract" music - there are as many references, commentaries, jokes and parodies in the piece as could be crammed in - more for your listening dollar. However, the piece should succeed on musical merit alone ("Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself,").
The Dreamsonata was written for my dearest friend Philip Setzer, violinist with the Emerson Quartet, who plays on this recording (a live performance from the 1994 Aspen Festival, with yours truly playing the piano).
The three action-packed movements are as follows:
1. Intro - slow and dreamy; rag tempo; fast and molto groovissimo
2. Ballad - slow, but with a definite and deep ballad groove
3. Variations on a theme by Charles Ives*
Theme - tempo di I'm a Lonesome Cowboy, ma non umoristico
Var. 1 - tempo di vaudeville
Var. 2 - country fiddling
Var. 3 - song (a bit folk-rock ballad)
Var. 4 - tempo di Hollywood (the trailer for Dreamsonata: the Movie)
Var. 5 - Adagio
Var. 6 - sentimental waltz
Coda - Intro recap.
*from the "Concord Sonata, Alcotts"
Version: 1994 revision
Year composed: 1985
Duration: 00:33:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Keyboard plus One Instrument
Instrumentation: 1 Piano, 1 Violin