Although he came to composition only in midlife, after a successful career as an orchestral violist, Brett Dean has become one of Australia's most widely performed composers. Writing for traditional classical instrumentation, he has issued works in nearly all the major genres.
Dean was born in Brisbane, Australia, on October 23, 1961, and was raised and educated exclusively in that city. He took up the violin at eight, later switching to viola. Dean attended the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, studying with Elizabeth Morgan and John Curro, and he graduated in 1982 with...