Moshe’s Dream

(2022) for full orchestra

Instrumentation

2222 4230 timpani, 3 perc, strings

Percussion: suspended cymbal, snare drum, bass drum, vibraslap, triangle, tambourine, xylophone

Duration

ca. 15 minutes

My inspiration for Moshe’s Dream comes directly from my grandpa Morry. During the 2020 lockdown, both of us isolated in our small apartments, he and I would talk on the phone about our innate love of klezmer music and how it never failed to cheer us up even when life was bleak. In December 2020, he called to tell me about a dream he had that I started a klezmer band and that I wrote a piece for him called Moshe’s Dream in the klezmer style. This piece is my interpretation of my grandpa’s dream and the music he heard within it.

Jewish folk music was a big inspiration for me, though this piece is not meant to be a musical reflection on klezmer music and I do not quote any klezmer melodies. Instead, I incorporate klezmer idioms, including scales, instrumentation, rhythms, and pitch bends, to evoke the same spirit of joy, silliness, laughter, wit, humor, sorrow, strength, and resilience that is shared by the klezmer tradition and my grandfather.  

-M.I.

 Commissioner

Commissioned by Chicago Sinfonietta for their 2021-2022 Season

Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director

Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO

World Premieres conducted by Taichi Fukumura, Assistant Conductor

Premieres

Premiered by Chicago Sinfonietta at Limitless Horizon

May 14, 2022 at Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville, IL

May 16, 2022 at Symphony Center, Chicago, IL