CHAPTER 1, Part 2.
INTERVIEW WITH BRETT DEAN
THE VIOLIST TODAY: A LIVING ROLE MODEL: Brett Dean, violist, composer and conductor
Travel forward to present day, and we can name many champions of the viola. Gifted musicians who have made it their life's work to contribute to the continuing emergence of the viola from the 'Engine Room’. Many of these violists have expanded the viola repertoire and commissioned countless new compositions.
As a younger musician, my hero was Yuri Bashmet. I was fortunate to have many of his recordings and found them a great point for inspiration and interpretation.
I now enjoy watching and listening to recordings of Nobuko Imai, Lawrence Power and Tabea Zimmermann.
I have chosen here to focus on Australian born contemporary violist, composer and conductor. Brett Dean (1961- ). As a violist from Australia myself, I included Australian music and cultural elements as part of this research. I felt it was therefore important for me to include Dean as one of my role models. As a composer Dean has written a viola concerto, which he performs regularly and this and other works make up a significant contribution to the viola repertoire. I wanted to discover if he as a composer and a violist favours the viola when he writes.
Dean now resides in the United Kingdom. From the age of twenty-two he was a violist with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. The name ‘Brett Dean’ was well-known in music circles in Australia. He has taken on many roles as a musician as well as being a prominent viola soloist on the international stage.
I conducted an interview with Dean on the 19th April, 2021, via ZOOM.43
(This can be seen in part or in its entirety on this page).
We covered topics such as his musical background, endeavours, compositions, inspirations and collaborations, and gained some insight into what it is like for a violist to also be a composer.
1. Background
Dean was raised in a classical music-loving family in Queensland, Australia. His grandmother on his father’s side was a singer, pianist and piano teacher. His grandmother on his mother’s side was a violinist who played with a semi-professional orchestra.
His father did not play an instrument but would always have classical music playing in the background at home. His mother was a singer and a pianist (like her mother) and sang in a church choir.
Dean's violin teacher was Elizabeth Morgan, but his practice mentor was his grandmother who lived next door. His parents encouraged him with his music and he joined the Queensland Youth orchestra and went to many Queensland Symphony Concerts as a youngster. At age ten or eleven he recounts an “Oh Wow!” moment when he heard Brahms 1st Symphony performed for the first time. From this moment, he was “hooked.”
2. Dean the violist
Although originally a violinist, it was Elizabeth Morgan who encouraged Dean to take up the viola. He recounted to me that he would get frustrated on the violin. However, for him playing the viola was “like ducks to water.”
Dean was fascinated by recordings of William Primrose. He was given the opportunity to play for him. (Primrose occasionally taught in Australia in his later years). He was also inspired by recordings of Atar Arad (at that time Arad was violist with the Cleveland String Quartet). He recounted being inspired by recordings of the Stamitz and Hoffmeister concertos and Hindemith Opus 11 no.4. Violist Wolfram Christ was also an inspiration to Dean. Dean played for him in a Master Class in Queensland Australia and from there gained a place in Christ’s class in Austria.
3. Dean the orchestral musician
At age 22, Dean was given a position as violist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The experience of playing “fabulous music with great musicians” is something he is grateful for. He also realised that to stay playing in an orchestra for a whole career was not going to be a job that would keep him totally motivated.
4. Dean the Composer
After meeting a rock musician and improviser Simon Hunt, (a friend of Dean’s wife’s family), Dean realised that there was a composer in him “bursting” out”. He started improvising with Hunt, and later pursued composing. The first big scale composition was a piano trio. He was violist in this trio with brother Paul, and pianist Steven Emerson.
After spending around eight years with the Berlin Philharmonic, Dean also started to write for his Scharoun Ensemble, an octet based on the Schubert Octet. As there was limited music for this configuration, Dean started to write encores and started writing arrangements.
His first award as a composer was a Unesco prize for his clarinet concerto.
Richard Mills, conductor commissioned Dean to write this concerto. According to Dean, Mills was so taken with how it turned out he said “you know, you’re a composer now. You’ve got to take this seriously.”
Other influential figures in his life have been Kurtag- composer in residence with the Berlin Philharmonic and composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. As a violist, Dean has premiered several of Kurtag’s works one of these being ‘Signs games and Messages’. Recently he wrote for a project where he performed with Tabea Zimmerman. He called this the Brandenburg 6 project- “Approach”.
5. Composing for the viola
Dean said he does not favour the viola when he writes compositions unless it’s a piece for solo viola or a concerto. Nor does he protect it. He is especially keen on writing for the viola using the extremities of the instrument. This is evident in his writing.
Some examples of Dean’s compositions where the viola is given a prominent role are “Rooms of Elsinor”44 ‘Intimate Decisions” and Viola Concerto.45
6. Responsibilities as composer and performer
As a composer and a performer, he still views the importance of a fitness regime on the viola as a priority when he has performances coming up. He does not approach the preparation of his works any differently to other composer’s works.
His daily, concise “stay fit” regime on the viola is a Kreutzer Etude with a series of about twenty bowing patterns. He recalled that Christ was “very big on the bow being the lungs”. In addition to the scales and arpeggios and position changing exercises. Arpeggios in 4ths, in Galamian books. His own pieces, (especially the ones I have mentioned before) are also part of his stay-fit regime.
On his recent experience of playing with Tabea Zimmerman, Dean says it gave him the “biggest shot in the arm in terms of viola playing”. She encouraged him to dig deeper. In his opinion, not only is she a great player but also a good teacher. He commented on the risk of neglecting his playing over time, as composition is his first passion now.
It is also important to plan carefully and prioritise to get the work done dependent on the time pressures one finds oneself in.
7. Dean on collaborations
Dean also discussed the importance for composers to show their compositions to musicians for feedback, especially if something “doesn’t work”. Especially in the early days of composing. Alternatively, he recognises that this is not always productive. It depends on the attitude of the other person and how interested they are.
For a composer, in his experience it is more daunting to write for an instrument you do not play, than your own. It is therefore important to consult with an expert. One of the most meaningful and instructive collaborations for him was the collaboration with trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger in the writing of the trumpet concerto. Not only did Dean further his understanding of writing for the trumpet (as opposed to writing for it in the orchestral sense), he also developed a friendship that he terms as “brotherly love.”
On a personal note, I have not yet been able to explore his works as a performer, however they will be something that I will be sure to factor in to future artistic endeavours. In my opinion, Dean’s composition for the viola, support the argument that the viola has risen to solo status. His virtuosic writing is demanding on the performer. Dean has contributed to the expansion of the viola repertoire and importantly the concerto repertoire. When I witness Dean performing his own compositions, and his own mastery of the viola, I am convinced that these compositons are worth investing time on. They are technically challenging however, as discussed in this interview with Dean and I would need to spend considerable time with them in order to feel that I could get near mastering them myself. I am inspired to do so, after my Master studies are completed and hope to one day perform at least one of his compositions in my concert series.
Interview with Brett Dean- 19th April, 2021 (with Michelle Pritchard)
The interview in its entirety can be seen here. Next>