Gregor’s Dream

Instrumentation: Amplified piano trio & electronics
Duration: 10:15
Commission: Atar Trio
Premiere: 3/19/16
The Atar Trio
Kibbutz Maabarot, Israel

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Program Note:
When the Atar Trio approached me to commission a piece for piano trio and electronics for their ‘Dream Within a Dream’ program, Kafka’s Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) immediately leaped to mind. Gregor wakes from anxious dreams to find himself transformed into a huge insect. I interpreted it to suggest a type of beetle, of which there are more than 400,000 species, approximately one-quarter of all plants and animals! I am most grateful to bioacousticans Martin Brandstetter (Austrian Institute for Forest Protection) for sharing his recordings of Asian Longhorn beetles (Anoplophora glabripennis), and Jayne Yack and Amanda Lindeman (Carleton University, CA) for sharing their recordings of mountain pine beetles (D. ponderosae, Ips pini and D. valens), which became the basis for the electronics.

The mood of the anxious dream, and the ominous world into which Gregor wakes, suffused my musical imaginings. Fear of the ‘other’ permeates the story, despite all belonging to the same family – a situation especially relevant to our tribalistic times. Gregor’s Dream was commissioned by the Jerusalem-based Atar Trio for their Dream Within a Dream program and is dedicated to them. The Atar Trio toured Gregor’s Dream in America and Israel, while other performances include those at the Aspen Music Festival, the International Computer Music Festival in Daegu KOR, and the International Alliance for Women in Music program, featuring a performance by the Kirkos Ensemble in Trinity Chapel, Trinity College Dublin. –JS

Press Quote:
Gregor’s Dream is a witty musical thriller that brings great reactions from the audience! As a performer, I love Shatin’s way of telling a story from the first note to the last in a dramatic and convincing way. The Atar Trio has performed it many times since we first commissioned it for our international tour and it now holds a major place in our repertoire.”—Ofer Shelley (pianist of the Atar Piano Trio)

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