Compositions

Shifting Spheres

Inspired by Georgian polyphony and the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, the music on this album was composed between 2017 and 2018 and performed by the Talea ensemble. Available for purchase at Centaur Records

From the River Flow the Stars

Composed between March 2015 - February 2017 From the River Flow the Stars is a collection of string quartets performed by the Daedalus Quartet available for purchase through MSR Music

Poems to Sing At Night

Composed between 2014 and 2015, the works on this CD are solo piano pieces performed by Brian and recorded at Futura Studios in Boston. Available for purchase through iTunes and amazon.

Stone of Traveling Winds

A collection of original works of romantic lyricism and uncompromising intensity inspired by Georgian folk music and contemporary composers of the 20th century. Released in July of 2014. Stone of Traveling Winds is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.

I often compose music in collections. The works contained in each collection share similar programatic and musical narratives. Each collection I have composed is listed below. Click for songs to see the respectively contained works for each collection.

Chamber Orchestras, Concertos, Symphonic Works

Chamber Ensembles and Quartets

Duos and Trios

Solo Works

Vocal Music

Life and Opinions

Life and Opinions is another book of compositions inspired by the protagonist of E.T.A. Hoffman’s novel Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr. Each work of this book consists of a musical dialogue between contrasting ideas. The moods of these dialogues blend the contrasts of peace and chaos, vigor and lethargy, elation and despair, with an overall tinge of wonder and curiosity.

Acanthus Leaves

In E.T.A Hoffman’s novel The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr, the tomcat Murr creates a collection of his most profound thoughts, of which he himself could not understand, under the title of Acanthus Leaves. My attempts to reflect Murr’s wonderful and ineffable thoughts are reflected in the organically developed themes and motives of these pieces. The treatment of motivic development my pieces in this book is specific to each instrument, register, and location of occurrence. My goal in treating musical material as such is to create a sense of disorder within cohesion. These works often combine the serene and sublime with the insatiable volatility of fire.

Romance and Descent

The book of Romance and Descent contains compositions inspired by the philosophic ideology of Thomas Mann and the growth and progression of life from a bottomless past. The thematic material of these works is often recycled in many different forms throughout the different movements. The “recycling” of ideas is representative of the affect the past has on the present and present’s foundation for the future. The works contained in this book are somber, but hopeful, a buoyantdark light, grasping for a better future.

From the River Flow the Stars

Drawing inspiration from ancient Japanese poetry, From the River Flow the Stars is a book of short compositions exploring the mysteries of nature, the hypnotic trance of solitude, and the inward contemplation of one’s existence. The compositions in this book contain short poems to be read following respective movements.

Stone of Traveling Winds

The compositions contained in the book of Stone of Traveling Winds explore musical developments involving a thematic element weathered by surrounding subject material. The imagery and music is representative of the title, a stone changed over time by its surrounding environment. Most of the works in this book feature a soloist with accompaniment and are composed in a somber and contemplative mood.

Maze of Infinite Forms

Maze of Infinite Forms is a book of compositions based around the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore. The music in this collection reflects the spontaneous surrender of discovery and the vivid yet beautifully simplistic imagery in the poet’s works. Through large and small-scale developmental variation, a maze of thematic material is explored to provide a cohesive story of ever-changing direction. The music should be played in a romantic and intense style.

Poems to Sing at Night

Poems to Sing at Night is a collection of compositions inspired by original poetry. The influence of the poems is heard in the cadence, rhythmic and melodic flow, and shape of the music. Much of the music of this set contains folk-song elements and is composed in reverence to the simplistic beauty of isolation and meditation.