Trio No. 2

Description

Violin, Violoncello, Piano — Lowell Liebermann’s Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 77 was commissioned by a consortium that included the Lied Center of Kansas, the Singletary Center in Lawrence Kentucky, and the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. xa0It was written for the Perlman / Nikkanen / Bailey Trio, who gave the work its world premiere at the Lied Center on Nov. 4th, 2001.The work is in three clearly defined sections that are to be played without a pause.xa0 The first section, marked “molto ritmico,” presents an aggressive quintuplet ostinato in the piano with an octave melody in the strings that is comprised of triplet, quintuplet and dotted rhythms.xa0 It is in the juxtaposition of these rhythmic cells that the argument of the first section takes place.xa0 The second section, marked “Adagio,” begins with a chorale-like, chordal figure in the piano that alternates with an eerie, chant-like figure in the strings.xa0 This builds to an impassioned lyric section.xa0 The last section of the trio, marked “allegro,” presents a virtuoso rendering of materials from the previous sections.xa0 In terms of harmonic materials, the trio freely blends tonal, modal, octatonic and atonal elements. Your better piano trios will exult in Liebermann's second foray into the field. This 16-minute work was co-commissioned by the Lied Center for the Performing Arts (Lawrence, Kansas), where the Perlman /Nikkanen/Bailey Trio performed the world premiere.