2020 NZTRIO SERIES: CONSTELLATIONS
Beethoven: Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 1
~ from flint-strike to inferno ~
Saariaho: Light and Matter
~ sliding focus on shifting landscapes ~
Margetić: Lightbox
~ buffoonery masks the burdened soul ~
Korngold: Piano Trio
~ anchored safely on undulous seas ~
2020 NZTRIO SERIES: INTERFUSIONS
Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 3
~ furtive flashes, nervous undercurrents, cheeky surprises ~
Hatzis: Old Photographs
~ reminiscence warped through the lens of time ~
Fisher: Kintsugi (new commission)
~ fractured synergy ~
Wijeratne: Love Triangle
~ burnt sands, foreboding skies ~
Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor
~ the weight of light ~
2020 NZTRIO SERIES: ORIGINS
Beethoven: Ghost
~ uplifting energy, lucid dreams, bright relief ~
Turnage: A Fast Stomp
~ think Punk ~
Ballard: Prema Lahari (new commission)
~ transcending physicality: a search for serenity ~
Yun: Piano Trio
~ an ancient forest full of life – strongly rooted, brushing sky ~
Zemlinsky: Piano Trio
~ take my hand, don’t look down ~
2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC UPRISING
Frank Bridge: Hornpipe
~ naval gazing ~
Edward Elgar: Lento assai – Allegro moderato
~ a quiet love no more ~
Samuel Holloway: Stapes
~ the bridge between sound and silence ~
Frank Bridge: Valse Russe
~ forevermore I dance alone ~
Charlotte Bray: That Crazed Smile
~ spell-bound fairies in the moonlight ~
Charles Ives: Trio
~ insensible chaos; a battle of the marching bands ~
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No.2 in e minor
~ menacing sarcasm ~
2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC IMPACT
Frank Bridge: Saltarello/Intermezzo
~parlour room antics: furtive glances and melodic giggles~
Martin Lodge: Ngã Whetu Hou
~ curiosity, caution, courage ~
Ross Harris: Senryu
~ the first raindrops anticipate a flurry ~
Rebecca Clarke: Piano Trio
~ gauzy mysteries richly veiled in a delicate darkness ~
Alfred Schnittke: Trio
~ a light smile contorted by deep tragedy ~
Daniel Schnyder: Piano Trio
~ alter egos meet in a Klezmer/Hymn/Arab/Jazz/Funk mosh pit ~
2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC SHIFT
Frank Bridge: Allegretto and Gavotte
~ utter gladness ~
Gillian Whitehead: Te waka o te rangi
~ smoke and water at the turn of day ~
Michael Norris: dirty pixels
~ moving images, charged particles ~
James MacMillan: Piano Trio No.2
~ keeping stride, obeying rules, pausing to reflect, turning tides! ~
Jennifer Higdon: Pale Yellow and Fiery Red
~ lost in a wonderful daydream, then reality sets in ~
Anton Arensky: Piano Trio No.1 in d minor
~ polite tradition gives way to a deeply personal, undeniable truth ~
2018 LOFT SERIES 1: WEAVE
Philip Glass: Head On
~ chaos brought to order ~
Felix Mendelssohn: Trio No.1 in D minor
~ sighs and exclamations within balanced architecture ~
Stuart Greenbaum: Year Without a Summer
~ impending doom, unwavering hope ~
Dorothy Buchanan: Trio Sound
~ an animated kaleidoscope of spirit, symmetry, and reflections ~
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
~ sweet serenity barely masks deep turmoil ~
2018 LOFT SERIES 2: BRAID
Rachel Clement: Shifting States – Sabbia (Sand)
~ fragile anticipation, like the edge of a shard ~
Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D Minor
~ deep knowing, unexpected circumstances ~
Elena Kats-Chernin: Spirit and the Maiden
~ leaning into the rain ~
Victoria Kelly: Sono
~ graceful power, careful love ~
Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G Minor
~ lucid layers. clarity. space. ~
2018 LOFT SERIES 3: TWINE
Philip Glass: Mishima
~ a gentle massage, disarmingly attentive in its touchpoints ~
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio No.2 in F Major
~ a much needed conversation – exploring, resolving … ~
Matthew Hindson: Rush
~ galloping off the beaten track ~
Celeste Oram: the naming of waters (new commission)
~ a hidden watermark, voices in the wind ~
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No.1 in B Major
~ shades of silence, reassuring convictions ~
2017 LOFT SERIES 1: SWOOP
Frank Bridge: Phantasie in c minor
~ sweeping nostalgia, fond memories, dark regrets ~
Shen Nalin: Meng Yuan for Piano Trio
~ reflections cloaked in mist, bursting into exultant cacophony ~
Chris Gendall: Dulcet Tones
~ flickering moonlight caught in a tangled cobweb ~
Schubert: Piano Trio in B Flat, Op 99 (D898)
~ delicate curtsies, pretty petals, short fuses ~
2017 LOFT SERIES 2: SPIRAL
Arnold Bax: Trio in B flat Major
Waxed moustaches, crisp lapels, hints of sarcasm – a story begins.
Jenny McLeod: Seascapes
Above and below a watery surface.
Samuel Holloway: Corpse and Mirror (New Commission)
Kaleidoscopic transactions in an ambient temperature.
Beethoven: Piano Trio in E flat Major, Op. 70 No. 2
Teetering precipices, pounded keys, anguished forgiveness.
2017 LOFT SERIES 3: SOAR
John Ireland: Phantasie Trio in A minor
Considered chronicles of lighthearted musings.
Anthony Ritchie: Childhood
Aria of a blossom: profound simplicity, softly bursting.
Dorothy Ker: Onaia
Hairy metal, wooden glass, rubber echoes.
Schubert: Piano Trio in E Flat
Persistently grasping at elusive memories.
2016 LOFT SERIES 1: ZOOM
John Musto : Piano Trio
Pulse runs away beneath a calm surface, like duck feet under water.
Chris Watson : Schemata; three views of an imaginary object
Outbursts, exclamations, conversations, reflections…all fun and games.
Elliott Carter : Epigrams
Objects in the mirror are sharper than they appear…
Anton Zemlinsky : Piano Trio in d minor, Opus 3
Rose coloured glasses.
2015 LOFT SERIES 3: BLAST
Fauré: Piano Trio in d minor, Opus 120
Talking to oneself, but can’t get a word in.
Young: Piano Trio (new commission)
Boisterous tumbling in thunderous storms, propelled beyond
into boundless calm.
Beethoven: Symphony No.2 (for piano trio), Opus 36
Complex simplicity.
2015 LOFT SERIES 2: SURGE
Chopin: Piano Trio in g minor, Opus 8
Liquid mercury in a delicate tea cup; heavy, silvery, fluid, elegantly resolved.
David Hamilton: The Faraday Cage
Glass toys in a dark room, revealed by stabbing shards of light.
Saint-Saëns: Piano Trio No.2, Opus 92
Dusky watercolours washed away by a cascade of bittersweet tears.
2015 LOFT SERIES 1: FRAGMENT
Chausson: Piano Trio in g minor, Opus 3
Hillsides of sunflowers, a heady mix of coffee, cigarettes and perfume.
Cree Brown: Gallipoli Fragments for Piano Trio
Choking dust and stench of bloody gore – the rawness of reality sucks the air from our very lungs. Bear witness!
Rachmaninov: Trio Elegiaque No. 1 in g minor
Frightened heartbeats wrapped in warmth of the finest weave.
2014 LOFT SERIES 1: SVELTO
Beethoven: Piano Trio Opus 1, No. 3 in c minor
Mysterious and pleading with moments of gentle optimistic tenderness, performed with animated gesture like the tragic life story of a soundless mime.
Matthius Pintscher: Svelto
The air is heavy and still. Dim hues trick the eye. Way up above, a furious, fickle wind catches only the highest leaves. The flutter, almost inaudible.
Stephen Matthews: Dance of the Fallen
A frenzied swarm of starlings stretching and dropping over an undecided sea.
Antonin Dvorak: Piano trio in f minor, Opus 65
Emotional turmoil – from the most hushed and transparent to explosions of passion and exuberant energy, like blood in the muscles of a graceful dancer.
2014 LOFT SERIES 2: RITUAL TRIPTYCH
Beethoven: Piano Trio Opus 1, No.2 in G Major
Still ponds and waterfalls, puddles and oceans, in cups and in fountains.
John Elmsly: Ritual Triptych
Shocking iridescence and shimmering brilliance – cool suspended simplicity. A thrillingly unstable game.
Salvatore Sciarrino: Piano trio No. 2
Ancient whale song narrates a dazzling dance of cascading crystal meteors.
Mendelssohn: Piano trio in c minor, Opus 66
Winter draws to a close, the air heavy and grey. Fires flicker, frozen waters finally burst free as the sun reigns over all.
2014 LOFT SERIES 3: TRANSFIGURED NIGHT
Beethoven: Piano trio in E flat Major, Opus 1
Filigree lace spins and floats on polished marble, covert smiles shared in secret knowledge.
John Zorn: Amour Fou
Quickening heart beats, lost breath, off-kilter axis as the world tilts. . .
Leonie Holmes: . . .when expectation ends
The warming of cool memories, moments overtaken by scampering unstable visions. Restless excitement explodes . . . thoughtfulness remains.
Arnold Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
Raw confessions, quivering heart soothed with tears, dawn’s light is a feathered balm.