Fantasie

Listen to Fantasie

Performed by the Bradley University Symphonic Winds

Conductor Dr. Darrell Brown

Program Note

Fantasie (2021) is a large, impactful piece featuring solo piano accompanied by wind ensemble. While composed in sonata-allegro form and conforming to many similar characteristics of a first movement to a piano concerto, it is not to be classified as such. While a solo pianist is certainly featured with many quasi-virtuosic passages, the piece is written relatively accessible so that it can be performed by any intermediate to advanced-level pianist. As traditional concerti are primarily composed to feature a virtuoso soloist, this pieces strays away from the stereotype in many subtle ways.

The music, itself, is written with a sense of perspective; a larger force is at work. At the most important moments, the piano blends in with the ensemble, harmonically and texturally, as if consumed by a larger whole. The piano adds a rare taste of color and timbre, seldom used in intermediate-level band works. There is no specific story, idea, or meaning behind the music, as is true of most of the composer’s works; however, there is moreso an invitation for the listener to apply their own experiences, emotions, and deep feelings to it, as if the music served as a soundtrack to their own lives.

It was entitled Fantasie during the final stages of writing, as the music sounded both mysterious and whimsical, but otherworldly in a sense, like viewing the whole world from a great distance and with great contemplation.