Had a funny dream last night which I can't resist relating.

I was in Russia with somebody (not sure whom) to visit Shostakovich and Kapustin. They appeared to be in
an home for the elderly, or maybe some soviet-style home for retired artists. Shostakovich was a sprightly
and jovial guy, standing in the middle of the room wearing a fur hat. He greeted me friendly if tersely, and I was
so overwhelmed that I could only mutter something about so loving his music.

By contrast Kapustin was a very old and sick-looking man, sitting in a wheelchair in a corner, surrounded by
some people tending to him. I could not even recognize him let alone make contact. I was rather dismayed by that.

I wonder where such a dream comes from, out of the blue. These are two of my favorite composers, next in line after
Bach, but I had not thought about them at all recently, nor heard or played their music. Isn't it strange how the
subconscious mind works, and every now and then dishes up something both unexpected and powerful...

Hi Chris,

Yes that's a very unusual dream. And you can most often count on the subconscious to bend reality in strange ways during a dream! I have noticed one thing though. Quite often there has been a recent occurrence during wakeful hours within the last few days that was probably filed away in the mind somewhere. It might, for example, have been rooted in reading an article, visiting a place, doing an activity, having a certain experience, or whatever. Sometimes that memory acts as the catalyst or trigger to launch the dream. If the dream was vivid enough and you can remember it well, quite often you can discover the trigger factor in it that will at least account for its origin and link it back to real life. But the odd events within the dream are mostly the subconscious getting its exercise while the conscious has nodded off and cannot rationally intervene or control. Some of these dream scripts are so bizarre, there is no logical way to understand why they unfolded as they did. There are general categories of dreams though. Take a dream where you're preparing for a recital. For various reasons, you're falling behind in your practicing, or the results are not fully satisfactory. Then the climax in the script draws near--you walk out on stage wondering how you'll play your program, feeling a deep sense of unease and dread! This is an example of a "preparedness dream".

In the dream at hand, at some point you might have been thinking about repertoire, (given all you learn, I know for sure that you do that), Russian repertoire in particular. In deliberating and selecting music for your to-do list, you might have thought of some music of Shostakovich, a favorite composer, that you'd like to play, feeling confident that you could certainly do very well. Perhaps in that same instant or at some other time, you considered some music of Kapustin which you'd love to learn, but it also struck you as being far less accessible, somewhat forbidding, with some doubt as to whether it would be a feasible undertaking. Then advance into the future. You're asleep, the subconscious takes charge and finds its trigger. Your companion in the dream might by your own conscious mind, whom the subconscious might enjoy mocking while it has the advantage. That's why you do not recognize the companion. Nor can you cannot see your own brain for that matter. You find Shostakovich first, who greeted you in a jovial, outgoing and friendly manner. There's a connection and comfort level with him. But Kasputin in the dream was unrecognizable, inaccessible in a far corner, infirm, noncommunicative, thus causing you dismay and disappointment. The people tending to him might have symbolized other pianists. You would have liked so much to interact with him. So this visual dream script might have illustrated your own earlier rational thinking while considering new repertoire possibilities. That's my take on it.

David

Thank you Dr. Freud
Yes I believe some dreams are a spin-off from a recent experience or thought. Some however come right out of the blue like this one. I had not thought about these composers at all let alone compared them (feeling equally at home with both, if not on the technical level).
I do have "preparedness dreams" regularly though. When I have some appointment or important thing the next day, I'm apt to dream that I am late, or forget, or totally screw up, or failed to put on my trousers (that last one has been a recurring theme through my life, I wonder what a Freudian analysis would make of that )

Hi Chris,

The dream of one suddenly finding himself outdoors in only his underwear on his way to some important event is the most common and famous preparedness dream. Probably everyone has dreamed this at one time or another or even often, so Freud would think nothing of it. Probably the preparedness dream in second place is seeing oneself back in college again, but missing all or most of the classes for one of the courses. And then the moment of truth and dread--the day of the final exam!

David

Oh... and here was I thinking I had something special ......

Nope, that's a universal preparedness dream. But... keep trying!

David