The Persistence of Memory: Dances for Bass Trio

Anders Dahlberg is one of my oldest friends and musical colleagues.  In 2010, he asked me to write a piece for three basses, for him to perform with two of his students at Kalamazoo College.  The premiere took place in November, 2011.

I liked the idea of honouring our misspent youth, which included playing and writing rock music together.  After some thought, I settled on the idea of using themes from Pink Floyd’s song “Wish You Were Here” as source material.  We happily kicked musical ideas back and forth, and over time, the piece took shape.   The title was suggested by Anders, after the famous painting by Salvador Dali.

It has to be said that “Persistence of Memory” doesn’t sound a lot like Pink Floyd. As such, I don’t think Roger Waters or David Gilmour can reasonably expect to share in the vast fortune this piece is sure to generate.

(6:30)


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