I. Run II. Sing for Clarinet and Piano (2014)
Brianna Doran - Clarinet
Paul Conrad - Piano
Score (PDF): viewable, not printable
This piece was written for my fiancée for her senior recital at Mason Gross School of the Arts. I set out to try and capture my feelings towards her and set it to music. The whole piece grew from the opening 3 notes of the second movement. I was stuck at school for a jazz ensemble rehearsal and decided to sit down at one of the pianos to just play around for a while. Those 3 notes were the first I played and it stuck. The second movement is based off of those 3 notes. The first is frantic and fast paced with a lot of grand gestures from the clarinet.
Brianna is a fan of the Romantic composers. She is head over heels in love with them. Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Weber, etc. My background is a little more modern. With this piece I really wanted to try and write her a Modern Romantic piece of music. I tried to capture some of the ideals and gestures from the Romantics and add a Modern spin to it. There are grand sweeping melodies and passionate cries from the clarinet while the piano swirls away underneath. This piece is my way of writing Romantic music (Brahms is probably rolling in his grave).