• Paul Dean
  • A Brief History (2019)
    (for Violin and Orchestra)

  • Wise Music G. Schirmer Australia Pty Ltd (World)

Commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for Jack Liebeck

  • 2[1.2/Afl]2[1.EH]3[1.2.Bcl]3[1.2.Cbn] - 4231 - tmp+2 - hp - str
  • Violin
  • 19 min

Programme Note

In honour of the life and work of Stephen Hawking

Media

Reviews

A Brief History of Time by Paul Dean (the 2019 MSO composer in residence) had its world premiere as part of the show. Dedicated to Professor Stephen Hawking and led by violinist Jack Liebeck, the piece expressed soaring themes of joy (albeit sometimes bittersweet), wit, tension and even rage as it evoked the idea of illness ravaging the body of one of the world’s greatest minds.

One notable achievement of the evening was the discovery that a piece by a homegrown talent, Paul Dean, could stand proudly in the company of those of Sibelius and Mahler.

Brian Cox, Daily Review
19th November 2019

We listen to Paul Dean’s A Brief History, a new symphonic exploration of extremes, with our minds full of the universe and our eyes staring into a blazing projected still of a black hole. Dean uses the orchestra like a paint palette, fashioning a sound world both alien and familiar for the ensemble and soloist Jack Liebeck. It is at times dramatic and at others sparse, and ultimately forms a fitting tribute to the great Stephen Hawking.

Brian Cox, Sydney Morning Herald
17th November 2019