Tombeau for Richard Dohrmannn

I knew Richard Dohrmann when I was an undergrad living in Nashville, Tennessee. Richard was an announcer for NPR station WPLN in Nashville and also was an aspiring young composer. When I last spoke with him he was working on a piece for violin and piano that he wanted me to premiere, but to my knowledge he never finished it. In the fall of 2013 I decided to try and reconnect with Richard after many years, but to my dismay I learned that he had passed away not long after I relocated from Nashville. Richard was a devotee of the avant-garde method of composition, so when I was moved to compose a piece in his memory I wanted to write it in the style with which he was so enamored. Being myself much more of a strict tonalist, this was not an easy task; nevertheless, I did my best to compose something that I thought Richard himself might have enjoyed, utilizing the same instrumentation (violin & piano) he was working on when we last spoke. I still recall our last conversation when he told me about the piece he was composing. During that conversation he mentioned a few particular techniques he was intending to employ in the work, and since he never completed that composition I have included some of his own ideas in this little memorial. May your memory be eternal, Richard Dohrmann. The score is available from Wolfhead Music. (Note that the Sibelius playback below does not entirely articulate all the varied techniques called for in the score.) Tombeau for Richard Dohrmann  (5:57) Copyright © 2013 by John Craton