Program Note
My Trio, written in the winter of 2002 and scored for the traditional grouping of piano, violin,
and cello, is an exploration of rhythmic and harmonic dissonance, in which contrapuntal complexes
that are unrelated harmonically and temporally coexist and together contribute to a larger
directional musical narrative. As its starting point, it takes a cycle of paces – slow, accelerating,
fast, and decelerating – that reoccurs four times, with each successive pace-wave overlapping the
previous in a manner that itself accelerates: the second overlaps the first by one section; the third,
by two; and the fourth and final by three. In addition, each of the sixteen structural blocks is
controlled by its own chord (each a part of a sixteen chord progression) and marked by its own
character. The individual players work at times together, at times apart, negotiating their places
in boxes and through situations that they have little control over. A boy who heard the work began to
wonder: "Is life anything like that?"
Premiere:
Christian Hebel, violin
Rob LaRue, 'cello'
Sandra Noreen, piano
7 March 2003
Tenri Cultural Institute
New York, New York