Program for Daniel Schreiner – Bluedreams
Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 4 pm
download a copy of this program here.
Bluedreams: an interdisciplinary recital
Daniel Schreiner, piano
Program
3/1-mist (2022) *
Daniel Schreiner (b. 1991) piano, electronics
Connie Fu (b. 1992) modular synthesizers, video
Jesse Humes (b. 1992) modular synthesizers
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Brouillards from Préludes, Book II (1913)
Amy Williams (b. 1969)
Falling (2012)
Tristan Murail (b. 1947)
Cailloux dans l’eau (2018)
5/10-ripple (2022) *
Daniel Schreiner, piano, electronics, video
Erik Satie (1866–1925)
Nocturne No. 3 (1919)
György Ligeti (1923–2006)
Cordes à vide from Études, Book I (1985)
Brittany J. Green (b. 1991)
bluedream (2019) †
8/9-pool (2022) *
Daniel Schreiner, piano, electronics, video
Caio de Souza (b. 1989), viola caipira (10-string guitar), electronics
Claude Debussy
Ondine from Préludes, Book II (1913)
Amy Williams
Brigid’s Flame (2009)
John Cage (1912–1992)
Étude 21 from Études Australes, Book III (1975)
0/0-surge (2022)*
Daniel Schreiner, piano, electronics, video
Caio de Souza, viola caipira
Vishnu R, navtar (self-invented instrument)
Ramin Roshandel (b. 1987)
Three Short Dreams (2021) †
György Ligeti
Entrelacs from Études, Book II (1994)
Claude Debussy
Feux d’artifice from Préludes, Book II (1913)
* denotes a world premiere
† denotes a West coast premiere
About the music
This eclectic program is comprised mainly of solo piano pieces I’ve learned over the past three years, both while living in Paris from September 2019–July 2020 and in Brooklyn since July 2020. Associated with a state of isolation and quarantine, these pieces—even those that are fast and extroverted—feel intimate to me, intricately bound to my disoriented, insular, and often anguished state of mind during these difficult years. In particular, these works got me thinking about the relationship between sound, memory, and time, and how for many of us, time has seemed highly subjective: some moments seem to have lasted forever, emblazoned in memory, and others have slipped by like water through fingers, making it a challenge to form a coherent narrative to life since 2020.
Bluedreams, then, attempts to draw connections between our collectively disjointed experiences of reality and the “logic” of dreams—and the way these seemingly paradoxical states of mind can intermingle and blur with one another. I feel that this tension between dreams and reality is compellingly represented by sound and resonance, which, when perceived in a live setting, can both ground us in our physicality and, at the same time, induce fluctuating (or even trance-like) states of consciousness. I’ve always been fascinated with this juxtaposition, and tried to harness a kind of oblique sense of narrative with the curation of piano repertoire interspersed with video/sound art projections, which serve as synesthetic “interludes” of sorts: commenting on the sound worlds of the piano works preceding and succeeding them.
My goal with Bluedreams is to immerse you in a sensory experience, to give you a different take on the Piano Recital as a societal construct, and to posit sound as a powerful, enveloping modality for healing and introspection.
Many thanks to Old First Concerts for making this concert possible, and to my wonderful friends and collaborators: Connie Fu, Jesse Humes, Caio de Souza, and Vishnu R.
About the musician
A musician and interdisciplinary artist of diverse interests, Daniel Schreiner is fashioning an eclectic career marked by experimentation, cross-genre exploration, and impassioned social engagement. As a piano soloist and chamber musician, Daniel has performed internationally at the Fondation des États-Unis (Paris), DiMenna Center for Classical Music (New York City), Ferrara Music Festival Concert Series (New York City), New Music on the Point (Vermont), Williams College (Massachusetts), Bard College (New York), Denison College (Ohio), Academie Internationale d’Été de Nice (France), soundSCAPE Festival (Italy), nief-norf Summer Music Festival (Tennessee), and at various small venues in Brooklyn, NY. Daniel has had the opportunity to work with the illustrious composer Betsy Jolas, Alan Pierson of Alarm Will Sound, members of the JACK Quartet, David Bloom of Contemporaneous, Kathy Supové, Ensemble Calliopée, Infrasound, LIGAMENT, the Mannes American Composers Ensemble, Balance Campaign, BlackBox Ensemble, NewMusicMannes, and the Berkshire Symphony, to name a few.
Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Daniel received his Bachelor’s degree from Williams College, where he won the 2012 Concerto Competition and received Highest Honors for his performance thesis-recital, which focused on the influence of Claude Debussy. He supplemented his undergraduate education at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria on a semester abroad, studying under Albert Sassmann. In 2017, Daniel received a Master of Music in piano performance from Mannes College of Music in New York City, studying under Dr. Thomas Sauer. His graduation recital, which featured works by J. S. Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Prokofiev, and Tristan Murail, won the Steinway Award for exceptional performance.
Having also majored in Studio Art while attending Williams College, Daniel is interested in integrating two-dimensional visual art, sound art, and performance art with the musical realm. His experimental sound art installations have been featured in exhibitions in Sardinia, Italy; Berlin, Germany; and Yonkers, NY. A recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship from the Fondation des États-Unis, Daniel spent the 2019–20 academic year in Paris, France, studying at La Schola Cantorum with Billy Eidi and performing works by Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, Murail, and contemporary Paris-based composers. Daniel’s latest projects include a trilogy of piano works inspired by the water cycle, multi-movement graphic scores written for open instrumentation, and new collaborations spawned from his recent residency with OneBeat. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his boyfriend and cantankerous shih tzu.
For more info about me:
https://danielschreinermusic.com
Instagram: @danielschreinermusic