Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor.

Early life

Brett Dean was born, raised, and educated in Brisbane. He attended Brisbane State High School. He started learning violin at age 8, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan and John Curro at the Queensland Conservatorium, where he graduated in 1982 with the Conservatorium Medal for the highest-achieving student of the year. In 1981 he was a prizewinner in the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards.

Career

From 1985 to 1999, Dean was a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000, he decided to pursue a freelance career and returned to Australia, where his many appointments have included curating classical music programs with the

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

(2005) and the Melbourne Festival (2009). As a composer and musician, he is a regularly invited guest to concert stages around the world. He was the composer-in-residence for the Taiwanese National Symphony Orchestra's 2016/17 season and the Creative Chair for the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich's 2017/2018 season. Dean was artistic director of the Australian National Academy of Music in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

until June 2010, when his brother, Paul, took up the post. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra celebrated Dean's 50th birthday, and his contribution to music as composer, performer and teacher, in its 2011 Metropolis Festival. He is married to Australian visual artist Heather Betts, and his daughter is the Australian

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Lotte Betts-Dean.

Works

General

Dean began composing in 1988, initially focusing on experimental film and radio projects as well as improvisational performance. Since then, he has created numerous compositions, mainly orchestral or

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

as well as concertos for several solo instruments. His most successful work is ''Carlo'' for strings, sample and tape, inspired by the music of Carlo Gesualdo. On 7 September 2008 his work ''Polysomnography'' for wind quintet and piano received its world premiere at the Lucerne Festival; on 2 October 2008 Simon Rattle conducted the first performance of the orchestral song cycle ''Songs of Joy'' in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His first opera, ''

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...

'', based on the novel by Peter Carey, premiered at

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

in 2010. Dean's compositional style is known for creating dynamic soundscapes and treating single instrumental parts with complex rhythms. He shapes musical extremes, from harsh explosions to inaudibility. Modern playing techniques are as characteristic for his style as an elaborate percussion scoring, often enriched with objects from everyday life. Much of Dean's work draws from literary, political or visual stimuli, transporting a non-musical message. Environmental problems are the subject of ''Water Music'' and ''Pastoral Symphony,'' while ''Vexations and Devotions'' deal with the absurdities of a modern society obsessed with information. In April 2013, "The Last Days of Socrates" was premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic. The work for bass-baritone, choir, and orchestra was a co-commission of the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In August 2014, "Electric Prelude" was premiered during the BBC Proms 2014 and was conducted by Sakari Oramo.

List of compositions

Stage

* ''One of a Kind'' – Ballet in three acts for solo cello and tape (1998) * ''

'' – Opera (2010) * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' – Opera in two acts (2013–16)

Orchestra

* ''Carlo'' – Music for strings, sampler and tape (1997) * ''Beggars and Angels'' Music for orchestra (1999) * ''Amphitheatre'' – Scene for orchestra (2000) * ''Etüdenfest'' for string orchestra with off-stage piano (2000) * ''Game over'' for instrumental soloists, string orchestra and electronics (2000) * ''Pastoral Symphony'' for chamber orchestra (2000) * ''Dispersal'' for orchestra (2001) * ''Shadow Music'' for small orchestra (2002) * ''Between Moments'' – Music for orchestra, in memory of Cameron Retchford (2003) * ''Ceremonial'' for orchestra (2003) * ''Moments of Bliss'' for orchestra (2004) * ''Parteitag'' – Music for orchestral groups and video (2004/05) * ''Short Stories'' – Five interludes for string orchestra (2005) * ''Komarov's Fall'' for orchestra (2005/06) * ''Testament'' – Music for orchestra, after version for 12 violas (2008) * ''Electric Prelude'' (2014)

Concertos

* ''Ariel's Music'' for clarinet and orchestra (1995) * ''Viola Concerto'' (2004) * ''Water Music'' for saxophone quartet and chamber orchestra (2004) * ''The Lost Art of Letter Writing'' for violin and orchestra (2006) – Winner of the 2009 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. Written for and first performed by Frank Peter Zimmermann in 2007. The four movements of the concerto are prefaced by four 19th century letters, written by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

(a love letter to Clara Schumann),

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, so ...

and

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

, an Australian

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

. Music by Brahms and Wolf is quoted in the first and third movements, respectively. The playing time of the concerto is approximately 34 minutes. * ''The Siduri Dances'' for solo flute and string orchestra (2007) * Dramatis personae for trumpet and orchestra (2013) * ''Cello Concerto'' (2018) * ''The Players'' (2018/19) for accordion and orchestra * '' Gneixendorf Music – A Winter Journey'' for piano and orchestra (2020)

Chamber music

* '' Fledermaus-Overture'' by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

, arr. for octet (1988) * ''Wendezeit (Homage to F.C.)'' for 5 violas (1988) * ''some birthday...'' for 2 violas and cello (1992) * ''Night Window'' – Music for clarinet, viola and piano (1993) * '' Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche'' by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

, arr. for octet (1995) * ''Twelve Angry Men'' for 12 cellos (1996; inspired by the 1957

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

film '' 12 Angry Men'') * ''Voices of Angels'' for strings and piano (1996) * ''Intimate Decisions'' for solo viola (1996) * ''Night's Journey'' for 4 trombones (1997) * ''One of a Kind'' for viola and tape (1998, 2012) * ''Three Pieces for Eight Horns'' (1998) * ''hundreds and thousands'' for tape (1999) * ''Huntington Eulogy'' for cello and piano (2001) * ''Testament'' for 12 violas (2002) * String Quartet No. 1 ''Eclipse'' (2003) * ''Three Caprichos after Goya'' for solo guitar (2003) * ''Equality'' for piano (with speaking part) (2004) * ''Demons'' for solo flute (2004) * ''Prayer'' for piano (with speaking part) (2005) * ''Recollections'' for ensemble (2006) * ''Polysomnography'' – Music for piano and wind quartet (2007) * ''Epitaph'' for string quintet (viola quintet) (2010) * ''Skizzen für Siegbert'' (Sketches for Siegbert) for solo viola (2011) * ''Electric Preludes'' for

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

and ensemble (September 2012) * String Quartet No. 2 ("And once I played Ophelia") for string quartet and soprano (2013), won Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize * ''Rooms of Elsinore'' for viola and piano (2016) * ''Mottos, mantras and memes'' for string quartet (2018) * String Quartet No. 3 ''Hidden Agendas'' (2019) * ''Seven Signals'' for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (2019) * ''Imaginary Ballet'' for piano quartet (2021)

Choral

* ''Bell and Anti-Bell'' (from ''Parables, Lullabies and Secrets'') for children's choir and small orchestra (2001) * ''Katz und Spatz'' for eight-part mixed chorus (2002) * ''Tracks and Traces: Four Songs for children's choir'' to texts by indigenous Australians (2002) * ''Vexations and Devotions'' for choirs and large orchestra (2005) * ''Now Comes the Dawn'' for mixed chorus (2007) * ''Carlo'' Version for strings and live voices (2011) * ''Concedas, Domine'' (a grace) for SATB chorus (2011) * ''The Annunciation'' for chorus and ensemble (2012) * ''The last days of Socrates'' for bass-baritone, SATB chorus, and orchestra (2013) * ''In This Brief Moment'' for soprano, countertenor,two SATB choirs, and orchestra (2020-21)

Vocal

* ''Winter Songs'' for tenor and wind quintet (2000) * ''Buy Now, Pay Later!'' by Tim Freedman, arr. for voice and ensemble (2002) * ''Sparge la morte'' for solo cello, vocal consort and tape (2006) * ''Poems and Prayers'' for mezzo-soprano and piano (2006) * ''Wolf-Lieder'' for soprano and ensemble (2006) * ''Songs of Joy'' (from ''Bliss'') for baritone and orchestra (2008) * ''Madame ma bonne sœur'' for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (2020-21) * ''Ich lausche und ich höre'' for soprano and octet, text by Karoline von Günderrode (2023)

Awards and honours

Miscellaneous

Dean's clarinet concerto ''Ariel's Music'' won an award from the

International Music Council The International Music Council (IMC) was created in 1949 as UNESCO's advisory body on matters of music. The original request of the foundation of the IMC was under the Director of the UNESCO. It is based at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, ...

International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...

in 1999. ''Winter Songs'' for tenor and wind quintet received the Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize in 2001; ''Moments of Bliss'' for orchestra was named Best Composition at the Australian Classical Music Awards in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Dean has been composer-in-residence several times, including at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival, the 2011

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Chamber Music Festival, the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

in 2020-23, and Wigmore Hall in 2023-24. Dean was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

in Brisbane on 21 June 2007. On 1 December 2008, he was awarded the 2009

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his violin concerto, ''The Lost Art of Letter Writing''."Keynotes", ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

'', February 2009, p. 10 In 2013, Dean was awarded the Melbourne Prize for Music. Dean received two

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

nominations at the Ivors Classical Awards 2023. ''Cello Concerto'' and ''In This Brief Moment'' were both nominated for Best Orchestral Composition. The ''Cello Concerto'' won the award. Dean received another nomination at the Ivors Classical Awards 2024. ''In Spe Contra Spem'', for two sopranos and orchestra, was nominated for Best Orchestral Composition.

APRA Awards (Australia)

The APRA Awards are presented annually since 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA). , - , rowspan="3",

, , ''Moments of Bliss'' (Brett Dean) , , , , , - , ''Eclipse'' (Brett Dean) – Artemis Quartet , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - , ''Moments of Bliss'' (Brett Dean) – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , ''Viola Concerto'' (Brett Dean) , , Best Composition by an Australian Composer , , , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , ''The Lost Art of Letter Writing'' (Brett Dean) – Frank Peter Zimmermann (violinist), Munich Philharmonic, Jonathan Nott (conductor) , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, , ''Sextet'' (Brett Dean) – Australia Ensemble , , Work of the Year – Instrumental , , , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, , ''Fire Music'' (Brett Dean) – Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Brett Dean (conductor) , , Work of the Year – Orchestral , , , - , rowspan="2",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, , rowspan="2", ''The Last Days of Socrates'' (Brett Dean, Graeme Ellis ext – Peter Coleman-Wright (soloist), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Simone Young (conductor) , , Work of the Year – Orchestral , , , - , Performance of the Year , , , - ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, , ''Dramatis Personae'' – Music for Trumpet and Orchestra (Brett Dean) – Håkan Hardenberger (soloist), Brett Dean (conductor), Sydney Symphony Orchestra , , Orchestral Work of the Year , ,

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

, ''Brett Dean'' (with Sydney Symphony Orchestra) , Best Classical Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia. ! , - , 2009 , , Brett Dean , , Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award , , , , The Melbourne Newsroom
/ref> , -

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board. , - , 2016 , Brett Dean , Don Banks Music Award , , -

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. ! , - , rowspan="2",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Brett Dean and (

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

– ''Bliss'' , Best New Australian Work , , rowspan="2", , - , Brett Dean – ''Bliss'' , Best Original Score , , -

References

External links

Australian Music Centre

Biography

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

Brett Dean's Homepage with his agency, Intermusica

Complete live performance of Brett Dean's violin concerto ''The Lost Art of Letter Writing''
by Australian violinist Sophie Rowell with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by

Arvo Volmer Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962, in Tallinn) is an Estonian conducting, conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Brett 1961 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian classical violists Australian classical composers International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners Musicians from Brisbane Australian opera composers Australian male opera composers Players of the Berlin Philharmonic People educated at Brisbane State High School Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni 21st-century Australian conductors (music) Composers for viola