Simone Dinnerstein

An American Mosaic

Artist: Simone Dinnerstein
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Supertrain Records

Liner Notes by Richard Danielpour:

In April 2020, during the first wave of the COVID pandemic in America, I was informed by my pulmonologist that because of my asthma, my chances of surviving COVID-19 were about 30% if I were to contract the virus. I barely slept in that month. In those early hours of the morning, I managed to write the first draft of a libretto for a new opera. The only thing that was able to relax me enough to sleep (no amount of medication would do the trick) was listening to Simone Dinnerstein’s Bach recordings. Later in May, having witnessed the extraordinary heroism of so many valiant Americans who had struggled to combat this “invisible enemy”, which was the coronavirus, I thought it fitting at some point to compose a 15-movement cycle for solo piano that would be live streamed by the end of 2020. At that moment, I knew that the end of 2020 would be a challenging and terrible time in America, and my hope was that I could write a work that would somehow give comfort to those who had suffered and struggled through this unprecedented crisis. By mid-May, I was still listening to the recordings of Simone’s Bach to alleviate my anxieties, but I had also begun to think seriously about this new work that I hoped to compose for solo piano.

I eventually spoke with Simone Dinnerstein, thanking her for the therapeutic effect of her playing and also mentioning my idea to her. She was enthusiastic, and a week later the Oregon Bach Festival, through the kindness and industry of their Director of Artistic Administration, Michael Anderson, commissioned the work which I titled An American Mosaic for a livestream premiere performance that would eventually take place on December 6th, 2020. I began work on An American Mosaic on June 5th, 2020 and completed the 15-movement cycle on August 6th of that summer.