Linda Dusman

for piano trio

ca. 8'30"

Dancing Universe, composed in honor of my parents who both passed away in 2015, quotes fragments of their favorite hymns in memoria. While composing, I was also reflecting on T.S. Eliot’s monumental poem Four Quartets, especially these passages:

“And the bird called in response tothe unheard music hidden in the shrubbery…I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope…But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting…So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness thedancing.”

The recording heard when viewing the score was performed by the Trio des Alpes (Hana Kotková, violin, Claude Hauri, cello, and Corrado Greco, piano).

Click here to view the score.

Linda Dusman

for orchestra

ca. 11'15"

What Remains constitutes the second piece in a series of works embodying the concept of pis aller—“paths of last resort,” for me a fitting metaphor for our time of great immigrations, political extremes, and sudden local disruptive violence. What Remains explores specifically the human trait of obsession that often drives individuals to this final recourse, and that path’s potential for leading toward both great good and great evil.

What remains at its end? The air we breathe, the lives that air enables, our shared potential for good, and the possibility of an arrival at that end, rather than its opposite. What Remains stands as a reminder of humanity’s collective responsibility to walk a path away from obsessive violence and ugliness toward intentional peace and beauty.

The recording heard when viewing the score was recorded by the John Hopkins Symphony conducted by Jay Gaylin. 

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Linda Dusman

for cello and piano

ca. 10'00"

Corona Bagatelles comprises a musical cryptogram of 1273 amino acids, which chained together create the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus. This protein enables the virus to bind to human cells and replicate itself, creating havoc in the human body. During the dark days of 2020, I took solace in contemplating the abstraction of this single cell, exerting a measure of control unavailable by any other means by “composing” it, imposing rhythms, melody, timbre, and form onto it. Each of the 5 movements is based on a subset of the entire amino acid chain, and its sounding motives suggested various characters or moments in my experience of the COVID quarantine (including an odd sequence where it quoted the opening notes of the Dies Irae, the mass for the dead), an experience all humanity now shares.

The final movement "Binding" celebrates the life of composer Wesley Fuller, who passed away as I was composing it. I had in mind one of my favorite compositions of his, Time into Pieces, and his joy in living expressed in his music, his poetry, and his love of family and friends. The final act of the coronavirus is to bind to our cells before it replicates itself. Binding to one another in shared purpose is perhaps our only way to survive. I also wanted to express this contradiction to close the set of bagatelles.

I offer my appreciation and thanks to the Duo des Alpes, Corrado Greco and Claude Hauri, for commissioning this piece; to Dr. Phyllis Robinson, who tutored me in biology while I composed it; and to our student Peter Bailer who as a biochemist and composer assisted with the translation into music.

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Linda Dusman 

for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double dass, harp, percussion, and piano

ca. 9'30"

What must our Lady Liberty be thinking? Staunchly guarding the NewYork harbor, sending a beacon of light still, but now a museum, what are her sonic memories of mothers singing to comfort their children? Mother of Exiles, your huddled masses are now at our southern borders, where there is a wall instead of a beacon of hope. How do we create a more perfect union, when we are faced so dramatically with the imperfections of our past and our present? What would that union sound like?

I want to express my appreciation to the cultures that created the lullabies quoted in this work: Syria, Nigeria, and the Andes region. My hope is that our shared concerns of caring for the young might bring these disparate voices together to forge a sustainable future. Any royalties resulting from performances of this work will be donated to Unicef, the United Nations agency for children.

The performance was recorded by the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Richard Scerbo.

Click here to view the score. 

Linda Dusman

for violin, cello, and piano

ca. 11'45"

This piece is dedicated to Trio des Alpes.

Thundersnow explores the concept of transformation and the union of opposites. Coarse, rock-like fragments twist in counterpoint, melting into metallic surfaces that eventually take flight. 

The recording, available upon opening the score, is performed by Trio des Alpes.

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Linda Dusman

for violin, violoncello, and piano

ca. 13'00"

Diverging Flints was inspired by an Emily Dickenson poem (from which the title is a quote), in which the poet uses the spark created by struck flint as a metaphor for human interaction. In the interactions among the trio members and in its harmonic and rhythmic development, my composition celebrates the chance meeting, and its potential power to change forever the individuals involved.

The recording of this piece is by the Damocles Trio (Adam Kent, piano; Airi Yoshioka, violin; Sibylle Johner, cello) and can be heard when viewing the score. It was recorded at the Livewire Festival in 2010.

Click here to view the score.

Click here to watch a performance (YouTube).