Nocturne Insomniaque

Premiere
Inon Barnatan, piano
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
18 March 2007

Composer note
When asked to write a new piece that would somehow relate to the subject of Night, I have to admit that I was surprised at how long it took me to find my own angle on this subject. As a person who loves the night, I thought it would be much easier. After battling quite a bit with this matter (and throwing away almost an hour’s worth of drafts, which also ruled out any relation to Schubert’s Impromptus) I sat down to play some Chopin Nocturnes hoping the muses would finally come my way - and they did!

While I absolutely adore Chopin’s nocturnes, I felt that they are focused on a very idealistic view of the night. My nights are rarely that! Much more often do my fears and inner demons disturb the serenity and romanticism of the night – and even when they don’t, there’s always some car siren that goes off, or a leaking tap that doesn’t let me fall asleep. Nocturne Insomniaque is a nocturne for those of us who sometimes have troubles falling asleep – the piece is structured as a five part rondo – the odd parts (choruses) are serene (or not); the even parts are the internal and external disturbances. The coda brings the night to….well, there are two alternative endings – one never knows how a sleepless night ends!

— Avner Dorman