Joaquin is Dreaming

Description

Guitar — Joaquin Bresnick-Arias, my grandson, was born on June 3, 2007, in New Haven, Connecticut. The child of Johanna Bresnick and Dimitry Arias, his wonderfully complex human inheritance (American, Ecuadorean, Jewish, Catholic, Russian, German, Spanish, native South American and more) inspired me to reflect in a musical way on this joyful new person and his intricate place in a brave new world.Joaquin is Dreaming is dedicated to my friend and colleague Ben Verdery, commissioner of this work. His impassioned musical artistry has been a consistent and stirring inspiration to me. I am deeply grateful to him. Martin Bresnick’s impassioned piece for solo guitar was inspired by the birth of his grandson, Joaquin, in 2007, leading the composer to reflect in a musical way on his arrival into a brave new world. This work was commissioned and edited by Bresnick’s friend and colleague, Ben Verdery, professor of guitar at the Yale School of Music.