Trio for violin, bass clarinet, and piano

(recording is of Piano Trio version)

This is an arrangement of my Piano Trio, with bass clarinet in place of cello.

It is an epic four movement work combining austere minimalism with emotional romanticism and dramatic narrative. Movement 1: A slow, ponderous opening gives way to feverishly undulating figures in the piano under sighing melodies in the violin and bass clarinet. A buildup culminates in oozingly descending piano chords, sinking down into a subdued return of the opening sonority. Movement 2: The slow opening melody of the first movement is transformed into a demonic Shostakovichian scherzo. A wispy, ethereal dream in the middle gives way to hammering chords that drive to the movement’s end. Movement 3: A lyrical repose, with soaring melodies in the violin and bass clarinet over undulating, sinking chords in the piano. Movement 4: A wide-ranging journey, beginning with airy note-against-note counterpoint, moving through aggressive marches, a furious gypsy hoedown, lyrically soaring scales, and a final slithering descent toward the work’s opening sonority. We end where we began, with soft, ponderous piano chords – but the chords are voiced differently, slightly more brightly and hopefully, and the residue of the fourth movement’s themes hangs questioningly in the violin and bass clarinet.

SHEET MUSIC FOR THIS PIECE CAN BE PURCHASED AS PART OF THE BASS CLARINET NERD SPECIAL OR THE SUPER DUPER MEGA ULTRA INCREDIBLE ALL CLARINET MUSIC SPECIAL