Lullaby: no bad dreams
Violin & Piano
Christopher Rogerson
About
When I was a child, I was often afraid of bedtime. Part of this was the darkness, part of it was the knowledge that with darkness came sleep, and with sleep, dreams. Some of those dreams would be nightmares. And when I would have these nightmares, I would wake up in the middle of the night and run to my parents’ room. Being a very practical child, I approached my parents about the problem and we worked something out to solve it. Each night before bed, they would come to my door. They would say, “No bad dreams?” and I would respond, “No bad dreams.” And then again: “No bad dreams?” “No bad dreams.” Finally, they’d say, “Good night,” I’d say “Good night,” and then we’d each say it one more time. Of course this was pretty tedious so we all spoke quickly. But on many occasions, it soothed me, and I had sleep with no dreams or only good ones.
This work for violin and piano recalls those memories of my childhood before bedtime. The opening section is very calm and serene, but it soon gives way to a more playful middle section (perhaps a reflection of the nights on which I had too much sugar). This section leads into the climax of the piece, which harks back to the opening, but now the beginning material is more troubled and anguished, a foreshadowing of the potential nightmares to come. These conflicts are quieted in the ending, but there remains a tinge of darkness as the piece descends into sleep and the magical world of dreams.
Performance
| Christopher Rogerson |
Lullaby: no bad dreams |
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Duration
07:00 |
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Commissioning Year
2009 |
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Premiere
February 26, 2010 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA |
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Recording
February 26, 2010 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA |
Artists
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Christopher Rogerson Composition
Chris Rogerson has been hailed by the Washington Post as a “confident, fully-grown composing talent,” and by the New York Times as a “confident new musical voice.” His music has been performed by the Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New World, and San Francisco symphonies and the Buffalo Philharmonic; and in venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, and Symphony Center in Chicago. Notable premieres include works for Yo-Yo Ma and for the Attacca, Brentano, and Dover quartets. Mr. Rogerson served as composer in residence for the Amarillo Symphony from 2014 to 2018 and was named the first-ever composer in residence of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in 2020.
Mr. Rogerson has won awards and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Copland House, Aspen Music Festival and School, ASCAP, BMI, and the Theodore Presser Foundation. He is represented by Young Concert Artists and attended the Curtis Institute of Music, the Yale School of Music, and Princeton University.
Mr. Rogerson joined the Curtis faculty in 2016.
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Benjamin Beilman Violin
Benjamin Beilman is one of the leading violinists of his generation. He has won international praise for his passionate performances and deep rich tone which the Washington Post called “mightily impressive,” and the New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence.” The Times has also praised his “handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence,” and the Strad described his playing as “pure poetry.”
Highlights of Mr. Beilman’s 2023–24 season include his debut with the St. Louis Symphony and performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, and the Pacific Symphony. This season he also tours throughout Europe, with performances in Germany, Austria, France, the United Kingdom, and more.
In recent seasons Mr. Beilman’s commitment to and passion for contemporary music, has led to new works written for him by Frederic Rzewski (commissioned by Music Accord), and Gabriella Smith (commissioned by the Schubert Club in St. Paul, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music). He has also given multiple performances of Jennifer Higdon’s violin concerto, recorded Thomas Larcher’s concerto with Hannu Lintu and the Tonkünstler Orchester, and premiered Chris Rogerson’s violin concerto (“The Little Prince”) with the Kansas City Symphony and Gemma New.
In past seasons, Mr. Beilman has performed with many major orchestras worldwide including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Sydney Symphony, and Houston Symphony. He has also toured Australia in recital under Musica Aviva, including stops in in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, and Sydney.
In recital and chamber music, Mr. Beilman performs regularly at the major halls across the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Louvre (Paris), Bunka Kaikan (Tokyo) and at festivals he has performed at Verbier, Aix-en-Provence Easter, Prague Dvorak, Robeco Summer Concerts (Amsterdam), Music@Menlo, Marlboro and Seattle Chamber Music, amongst others. He also continues to perform with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Mr. Beilman studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a London Music Masters Award. He has also recorded works by Stravinsky, Janáček, and Schubert for Warner Classics. He performs with the ex-Balaković F. X. Tourte bow (c. 1820) and plays the “Ysaÿe” Guarneri del Gesù from 1740, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
Mr. Beilman joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022.
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Yekwon Sunwoo Piano
100 for 100
100 for 100 celebrates contemporary music with a showcase of bold, original compositions and fresh perspectives.
