Programme Notes |

2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC UPRISING

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LISTENING NOTES BELOW

Frank Bridge (UK) Hornpipe:

~ naval gazing ~

Edward Elgar (UK) Lento assai – Allegro moderato:

~ a quiet love no more ~

Samuel Holloway (NZ) Stapes:

~ the bridge between sound and silence ~

Frank Bridge (UK) Valse Russe:

~ forevermore I dance alone ~

Charlotte Bray (UK) That Crazed Smile:

~ spell-bound fairies in the moonlight ~

Charles Ives (US) Trio:

~ insensible chaos; a battle of the marching bands ~

Dmitri Shostakovich (USSR) Piano Trio No.2 in e minor:

~ menacing sarcasm ~

2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC IMPACT

Frank Bridge (UK) Saltarello/Intermezzo

~parlour room antics: furtive glances and melodic giggles~

Martin Lodge (NZ) Ngã Whetu Hou

~ curiosity, caution, courage ~

Ross Harris (NZ) Senryu

~ the first raindrops anticipate a flurry ~

Rebecca Clarke (UK) Piano Trio

~ gauzy mysteries richly veiled in a delicate darkness ~

Alfred Schnittke (USSR) Trio

~ a light smile contorted by deep tragedy ~

Daniel Schnyder (USA) Piano Trio

~ alter egos meet in a Klezmer/Hymn/Arab/Jazz/Funk mosh pit ~

2019 NZTRIO SERIES: TECTONIC SHIFT

Frank Bridge (UK) Allegretto and Gavotte

~ utter gladness ~

Gillian Whitehead (NZ) Te waka o te rangi

~ smoke and water at the turn of day ~

Michael Norris (NZ) dirty pixels

~ moving images, charged particles ~

James MacMillan (UK) Piano Trio No.2

~ keeping stride, obeying rules, pausing to reflect, turning tides! ~

Jennifer Higdon (USA) Pale Yellow and Fiery Red

~ lost in a wonderful daydream, then reality sets in ~

Anton Arensky (Russia) Piano Trio No.1 in d minor

~ polite tradition gives way to a deeply personal, undeniable truth ~

2018 LOFT SERIES 1: WEAVE

Philip Glass (USA): Head On
~ chaos brought to order ~

Felix Mendelssohn (GER): Trio No.1 in D minor
~ sighs and exclamations within balanced architecture ~

Stuart Greenbaum (AUS): Year Without a Summer
~ impending doom, unwavering hope ~

Dorothy Buchanan (NZ): Trio Sound
~ an animated kaleidoscope of spirit, symmetry, and reflections ~

Robert Schumann (GER): Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
~ sweet serenity barely masks deep turmoil ~

2018 LOFT SERIES 2: BRAID

Rachel Clement (NZ): Shifting States – Sabbia (Sand)

~ fragile anticipation, like the edge of a shard ~

Fanny Mendelssohn (GER): Piano Trio in D Minor

~ deep knowing, unexpected circumstances ~

Elena Kats-Chernin (AUS): Spirit and the Maiden

~ leaning into the rain ~

Victoria Kelly (NZ): Sono

~ graceful power, careful love ~

Clara Schumann (GER): Piano Trio in G Minor

~ lucid layers. clarity. space. ~

2018 LOFT SERIES 3: TWINE

Philip Glass (USA): Mishima
~ a gentle massage, disarmingly attentive in its touchpoints ~

Robert Schumann (GER): Piano Trio No.2 in F Major
~ a much needed conversation – exploring, resolving … ~

Matthew Hindson (AUS): Rush
~ galloping off the beaten track ~

Celeste Oram (NZ): the naming of waters (new commission)
~ a hidden watermark, voices in the wind ~

Johannes Brahms (GER): 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.