Gregson: Dream Song

Featuring

Bramwell Tovey
Richard Watkins
Wissam Boustany
BBC Philharmonic
Edward Gregson

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Composer Biography

Edward Gregson, born in 1945, began his professional composing career at age twenty-five after studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Composition History

Edward Gregson's Horn Concerto was originally commissioned in 1970 for French horn player Ifor James to be performed with brass bands, and remained exclusively for brass bands until its orchestral version in 2013.

Compositional Technique

In Dream Song, Edward Gregson uses the first four notes of Mahler's 'Alma theme' from Symphony No. 6 as a leitmotif to provide coherence, fragmenting and deconstructing it like a dream.

Composition History

Edward Gregson's Concerto for Orchestra underwent three revisions, starting as 'Greenwich Dances' in 1983, then 'Contrasts' in 1989, before reaching its final form for its first recording in 2001.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Edward Gregson's early music was influenced by Bartók, Hindemith, and Vaughan Williams, while later works show the impact of Sir Michael Tippett, Lutosławski, Shostakovich, and Alban Berg.

Composition History

Edward Gregson's Dream Song was commissioned by the BBC in 2010 as a companion piece to a Mahler symphony, and directly relates to Mahler's Symphony No. 6.

Composition History

Edward Gregson's Aztec Dances was inspired by a British Museum exhibition about the Aztec civilization and the role of music and dance in their life, including human sacrifice.