Trio No. 3 for violin, clarinet and piano

Abstract

Trio No. 3 (1995, clarinet; 1998, alto sax) is based on a folk-like modal tune that highlights the composer’s Greek heritage. This tune appears as a solo passage on the clarinet or the alto saxophone at the beginning. Parts of the tune and the intervals of fourths and fifths are worked out in various ways throughout the piece, thus creating new tonal possibilities. The first movement can be performed as a separate piece under the title The Oracle at Delphi (Study III).

This work was commissioned by the Verdehr Trio, who premiered it at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1995. The first movement, The Oracle at Delphi, won first prize at the Delius Composition Contest.