Trio For Clarinet, Violin, And Piano
Alex Shapiro
About this work:
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
Total duration ca. 12 minutes (1998)
Published by Activist Music.
Three movement work: "Allegro," "Adagio," and "Vivace."
30 pages, 8.5" x 11".
Premiered in November 1998 in Los Angeles, CA.
by Bronwen Jones, clarinet; Marcy Vaj, violin
and Genevieve Lee, piano.
Recorded in August 1999 by Berkeley Price, clarinet;
Nancy Roth, violin and Deon Nielsen Price, piano.
"...sharply rendered..."
-------—Steven E. Ritter, American Record Guide Nov/Dec 2001
"...truly interesting and very lovely.."
-------— Jeff Gower, The Delius Festival Report, April 1999
Award winner in the Best Instrumental Music category
from the Composers Guild
and Best Performance category
from the Delius Association of Jacksonville, Florida.
Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano was composed at the suggestion of my dear friend, composer and clarinetist Bronwen Jones, whose wonderful encouragement of my work has directly led to my ongoing delight in creating more of it. This particular piece was composed using classical sonata form as a point of departure for a more modern tonal and rhythmic palette, and each of the three movements evokes a distinctive mood.
The Allegro introduces a strong theme, first heard in the clarinet and then developed for all three instruments throughout the movement. A quiet piano entrance begins the Adagio, an unabashedly romantic gesture that gradually builds with a lyrical, ascending line. The third movement, Vivace, is a fun, raucous sort of gypsy dance that cavorts through bitonality and shifting meters and ends the entire Trio with a big grin.
Year composed: 1998
Duration: 00:12:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Clarinet, 1 Piano, 1 Violin