Listening Notes |

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.