One of the most well known piano works of Brahms.
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Voices of the Woods

Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2

YouTube Video

Brahms Intermezzo Op.118, No.2 in A Major

Part of 'Master of Instrumental' radio collection

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Beethoven - Pathetique Op. 13 - III. Rondo. Allegro

Ran Jia, live performance at Miami Festival, 2010

Schumann PIano Sonata No.2 in G Minor, 1st Mvt

My interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Prelude B Minor Op32.

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Prelude B Minor Op32

The Consolation of Rain is a 20 minute work for oboe, cello, harp and percussion, performed here by Camerata Pacifica -  Nicholas Daniel, oboe; Ani Aznavoorian, cello; Bridget Kibbey, harp; and Ji Hye Jung, percussion.

We all take consolation from different things, and without wanting to be overly morbid, I would like to think that after I die, my loved ones could take consolation from the sense that I was quite literally all around them, in the air, water and earth as part of the natural cycle of things. There are numerous poems on this theme, including the famous "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye in which, rather than being dead, the deceased speaks directly to us: "I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. " Clearly I am not alone in my way of thinking there is something very moving about the idea that you can reconnect with someone you've lost simply by looking at nature.

Perhaps an inevitable topic for an Englishman, the focus in this piece is rain. Taking Debussy's method of portraying the sea in La Mer as something of a model, the piece is primarily an abstract musical construction, but one that constantly and variously evokes different aural images of rain, whether it be rippling, glistening, dripping, rumbling, swooshing or showering; gathering pace or subsiding; distantly echoing or vigorously present. But throughout, the impression is of rain not as dark and depressing, but as something positive, consoling, life-affirming and renewing - the 'gentle autumn rain' mentioned in the Frye poem.

I suspect - as is often the case in my work this focus emerged out of the instrumentation particularly the combination of harp and marimba which has a lot of potential 'water' in its sound. The focus on quietness in this piece may also relate to the fact that I knew I was writing for the wonderful oboist Nicholas Daniel. Just as I was beginning to write the piece I went to watch Nick perform, and one of the things that struck me in particular was his breathtakingly beautiful pianissimos. I've always felt that one of the tell-tale signs of a great performer is someone who knows how to use the very quietest tones their instruments can produce, to captivate a room and make everyone collectively hold their breath at the delicacy and fragility of the sound. These are often the moments when music really does offer a sense of transcendence.

Alongside Nick it has been a delight to know I'm writing for the fantastic players of Camerata Pacifica, and to know I can throw anything at them; and in particular to reconnect with Bridget Kibbey who has fearlessly tackled many of my fiendishly difficult harp parts in the past without batting an eye.

The Consolation of Rain is in five short movements, each in a way, a kind of 'song without words'. It lasts about 20 minutes in total. 


The  Consolation Of Rain by David Bruce

Thomas Gould, violin
John Reid, piano

Recorded live at Wigmore Hall on 3 March 2009

YCAT Wigmore Lunchtime 2009

Franck Violin Sonata - IV. Allegretto poco mosso

Liszt Totentanz

A. VIVALDI  Concerto For Violin, Strings And B.C. In B Minor RV 390, Europa Galante

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa, conductor

Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring (RCA 1968)

New England Conservatory's Philharmonia led by Hugh Wolff perform Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54. Recorded live in Jordan Hall March 11, 2013.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 - Presto

Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1970, David Bruce grew up in England and now enjoys a growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, his third Carnegie Hall commission Steampunk (2011), follows Piosenki (2006), and Gumboots (2008) which have both gone on to be widely performed by leading ensembles around the world. His song-cycle The North Wind was a Woman was commissioned by the Lincoln Center for Dawn Upshaw for the gala opening of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center's 2009 season. In the UK, Bruce has a new chamber opera in development with the Opera Group and the Royal Opera House's ROH2, based on Philip Pullman's story The Firework Maker's Daughter. He was also recently selected as one of 20 leading composers chosen to represent the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad 20x12 initiative.

Bruce's music draws inspiration from folk-traditions from around the world. He particularly enjoys collaborating with musicians who have strong connections with both classical and folk/world traditions, such as accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, mandolinist Avi Avital and clarinettist David Orlowsky. In August 2011 Bruce will be collaborating with world-renowned violinist Daniel Hope, the David Orlowsky Trio and cellist Vincent Segal on a new co-commission inspired by Irish folk music from the Mecklenberg-Vorpommern festival, Germany and the Savannah Festival, USA. In 2012 he will be collaborating with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project on a new commission. Bruce also enjoys close working relationships with some of the finest musicians of the younger generation including Ensemble ACJW; harpist Bridget Kibbey; the grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble in New York; Chroma in the UK; and Art of Elan in San Diego (whose commission The Eye of Night was premiered in Jan 2011 and will shortly be recorded).

Bruce's work in opera has also attracted considerable attention. A series of short operas for Tete a Tete in London culminated in the Genesis Foundation commission Push! (2006) which was Critic's Choice for 2006 in both The Telegraph and Classical Music Magazine and received universal critical acclaim. In 2008, Dawn Upshaw instigated the commission for his one-act opera A Bird in Your Ear (2008) for Bard College, NY. After its successful premiere the opera has had performances by New York City Opera as part of the 2009 VOX festival; as a finalist in the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera competition 2008; and with students at NYU. The New York Times said the opera, "rich with imagined folk tunes, undulant accompaniment patterns and vibrant choral writing, is delicate, tartly tonal and lucidly orchestrated."

Bruce's music has attracted numerous awards and prizes, including the Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize (2008) and the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition (1994). He studied at Nottingham University, the Royal College of Music, London, (with Tim Salter and George Benjamin); and completed a PhD in Composition at King's College, London (1995-9), under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle.

Complementing his work as a composer, Bruce runs the music and technology company Red Balloon Technology Ltd whose sites include the popular sheet music site 8notes.com and the composers' site CompositionToday. 

The Consolation Of Rain by David Bruce

davidbruce