dispelling the belief

 that the only

good composer

 is a dead composer

^®

The play list from Intense Measures©.  Order your copy now.

• Piano Sonata
• Love of My Soul
• Sonata for Flute & Piano
• Piano Trio
• The Prostituted Meaning of Love
• Hymn for String Quartet

Check out the play list from Requiem for chorus and orchestra ©, Making the Streets Safe for Classical Music, Again © and Vocalnetics ©.

Audio Clips .......

Select the music note next to each song biography below to hear a short audio clip from Intense Measures ©.  Try the sample below.

Go to #1 Fans to hear what they have to say about Intense Measures ©. 

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1991
Performed by Linda Camp

This work was originally written to perform on a concert program for the Arlington Heights Library.  The sonata exhibits a Franz Liszt flavor.  It is technically demanding from start to finish with waves of arpeggiated chords supporting octave melodies.  The first movement paints a picture of waves caressing a beach.  The second movement starts with allusions to the first movement then moves into a melancholy mood that finally bursts forth in a fury.  The third movement incorporates thoughts from the second movement but in a whirlwind fashion.  This raucous adventure finally stops for a reflective breath in the middle but quickly is off and racing to it’s intense staccato finish.

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1990
Performed by Susan Siciliano, Flute, Brian Conn, Piano.

This piece was written as a prelude piece for church.  The title eludes to God as the lover of our souls.  I was wanting a stately, almost march, feel as the flute’s fluid lines ebb and rise throughout the work.  Reminiscent of Handel’s Xerxes.

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1996
Performed by Susan Siciliano, Flute, Linda Camp, Piano.

This piece was written in honor of the marriage of Susan Siciliano and Michael Meyers, December 22, 1996.  The first movement starts out with Irish melody.  The second movement begins with solo flute and   the piano joining in for a romantic interplay.  The phrase of the flute tapers as the piano line rises up in an incessant emotional swell.  Susan performed this section of the sonata for all in attendance at her and Michael’s wedding reception.  The third movement reminds me of Poulenc.  It remains founded in tonality but ventures into a contemporary chromatic mode.  This is definitely the most challenging of the three movements for both the flute and piano.

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1996
Performed by Thomas Yang, Violin, Peter Szczepanek, Cello, Brian Conn, Piano.

This work was written in response to comments made regarding the heavy, dark nature of my compositions.  I decided I would write a lighter, easily digestible work for the listener.  The first movement, moderate in tempo, is almost placid, like the calm surface of a lake.  The second movement begins fiercely but resolves into a somber fugue, plaintive, yet constantly in motion as the interwoven lines push toward it’s majestic conclusion.  I wanted the third movement to be light and dance-like with a brisk pace.  It reminds me of Handel or Vivaldi.

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1984
Performed by Susan Siciliano, Flute, Thomas Yang, Violin, Peter Szczepanek, Cello, Brian Conn, Piano.

This work originated as a project for a composition class taught by Dr. Michelle Schelle at Butler University.  It is my commentary on the often overused and misused definition of love.  The violin represents man and his constant struggle between good and evil.  The minimalist piano part represents the heartbeat of man.  The tone cluster at the beginning and end of the piece represents the creation of man.  The flute portrays an angel pulling man towards heaven.  The cello represents Satan’s constant pull towards evil.

Music by Brian Conn - Composed 1991
Performed by Thomas Yang, Violin, Jerri-Lou Zike, Violin II, Kimberly McLean, Viola, Peter Szczepanek.

This piece originated from a work still in progress.  I have an affinity to Irish music and the Irish countryside.  I’m constructing a piece for string orchestra based on Irish hymn tunes.  This tune might be widely recognized as “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.”  My arrangement is basically a theme and variation with a twist.  I wanted the listener to feel they recognized the tune without being able to easily place it.  So I wrote the majority of the work in a minor key.  Finally, after the cello’s various melodies and the layering of the tune in a roundabout, it modulates into the familiar major key.  I hope this piece appears to the listener as reverent and soothing to the soul.  I thought it a great resolution to this collection of works.

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All songs © 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2004 Classical Angst Publishing. (A.S.C.A.P)  All rights reserved.  Unauthorized duplication and distribution is prohibited by law and is subject to prosecution.