To commemorate Robert Schumann's (1810-1856) bicentennial, a consortium of orchestras is commissioning Lawrence Dillon to compose a trilogy of celebratory pieces. Fantasiestück, The Marriage Diary and Florestan and Eusebius will be premiered in May 2010 by the Idyllwild Symphony Orchestra, the consortium leader, under the baton of Music Director Peter Askim.

Fantasiestück (8-10 minutes) is an orchestral fantasy on the enigmatic figure of Robert Schumann, a brilliantly gifted composer and writer who ascended to the pinnacle of the music world only to end his days in an insane asylum.

The Marriage Diary (5-7 minutes) - For the first four years of their married life, Robert and Clara Schumann kept an intimate marriage diary. They wrote notes to one another, commented on visitors and concerts, and kept a running dialogue on the delights and challenges of married life. The Schumanns' marriage holds particular interest for couples in the twenty-first century, as Robert and Clara coped with many of the same issues familiar to two-income families today. Dillon's The Marriage Diary takes its cue from this infamous book: a dialogue for mezzo, tenor and orchestra, it is an amusing dramatization of the complications, misunderstandings, and hard-won tenderness of 19th-century newlyweds.

Florestan and Eusebius (8-10 minutes) While still in his twenties, Robert Schumann became a very influential music critic. In his writings, he invented several characters, through whom he expressed contrary perspectives on artistic issues of the day. Chief among these fictional figures were Florestan and Eusebius. Florestan was impetuous, passionate, and forward-looking; Eusebius was a quiet, introspective dreamer.

Dillon's Florestan and Eusebius imagines these two characters beside Schumann's deathbed, trying to make sense of their creator's madness and decline. It concludes with a setting of a haunting elegy by Heinrich Heine, one of Schumann's favorite poets.

To read more about this trilogy, visit here. For information on joining in the commissioning consortium, contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting.

Eastern Michigan University held a very special commemorative celebration in 2007. From February 21-24, the school's MUSICNOW Festival focused on the compositions of Lawrence Dillon. The orchestra and wind ensemble, as well as faculty and student chamber ensembles, performed six works Dillon composed from 1983 and 2005. Dillon gave a speech on his life and music, and participated in rehearsals, question-and-answer sessions and discussion panels during the three-day festival. Pieces performed for the festival were Amadeus ex machina, Big Brothers, Blown Away, Dunigan Variations, Façade and Furies and Muses.

Much more about the Festival here

In March 2007, Lawrence Dillon traveled to Tokyo, appearing as a guest teacher at the Seisen International School. Dillon discussed his music and compositional techniques, and reported on his journey through his popular blog, an infinite number of curves. Read selections here:

March 15, 2007
March 19, 2007
March 24, 2007
March 27, 2007

On November 21, Dillon's Devotion for flute and string trio was performed (Although he did not travel to the performance) in Wroclaw, Poland as part of the 2007 American Music Festival presented by the Lipinski University of Music.

More about the Festival here.

One of the most unusual premieres of 2007 took place in a private home in October: Dillon's Still Point, commissioned by author Shona Simpson as a birthday present for her husband, was performed for an enthusiastic audience in Ms. Simpson's home. The piece, for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano, sets a tender sonnet by Ms. Simpson. Classical Voice North Carolina raved about the resulting love song: "Simpson's sonnet about the fleet passing of life and time served as the text ... The prominent viola part was gorgeous. This was a very successful song." To read more about Still Point, visit here. (Photograph by Allen Aycock: Sheila Browne and Janine Hawley perform Still Point.)

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