Piano Trio No. 1
About: I wrote my first piano trio in January of 2011. I was drawn to the use of oscillating ostinato harmonic patterns mixed with march-like rhythms in the melody (much like Rachmaninov’s first elegiac trio). The second movement is itself an elegy, which then bursts attacca into a dance in the third and final movement.
Premiere: Olivia Cottrell, Nathan Cottrell, and Jiayi Shi on November 21st, 2011 at Biola University’s Lansing Auditorium, La Mirada, CA.
Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano
Duration: ca. 14 minutes