Trio Barclay

Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in A Minor

Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 5pm

Trio Barclay is Sponsored by

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This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.

Dennis Kim: Violin
Jonah Kim: Cello
Sean Kennard: Piano

Ya-Jhu Yang: Piano Trio No. 2 (World Premiere)

I. Elegy
II. Perpetuum Mobile
III. Passacaglia
IV. Finale

-INTERMISSION-

Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio in a minor

I. Modéré
II. Pantoum: Assez vif 
III. Passacaille: Très large
IV. Final: Animé

My first work for piano trio (an earlier piece called Letters to Formosa) was composed during my first year living in New York City, after moving from my native Taiwan. Life was exciting and frustrating at the same time as I navigated a new lifestyle in America. For comfort, I eagerly listened to pieces that reminded me of home. It was inevitable that my creative work would be infused with the Taiwanese folk tunes my family loved to sing - songs that laid their roots deep within me over many years.

Fifteen years later, and now an American citizen, I had the opportunity to write for the same instrumentation of violin, cello, and piano again, this time for Trio Barclay. I experienced another process of self-discovery as I embarked upon this work. I noticed how those folk tunes from childhood had now been remolded and transformed into new songs: ones that blended with my life experiences in my new homeland. Musically, they showed me a way of looking at my own upbringing from a distance. The fresh (and yet somehow familiar) melodies that came to me while writing this piece seemed to come from distinct moments that sparkled in my memory. It was as if I had heard these songs somewhere in my dreams. In them, I saw a river of time gently passing through.

The first movement of this work is a melancholy, retrospective Elegy, echoing as a song travels through the mountains. This is followed by Perpetuum Mobile - a stirring, uncertain, almost-lost fragment, like a dream only partially remembered. Next comes the Passacaglia - the heart of the piece. It is the backdrop for the story, connecting the dots between the other movements. It asks us to be fully present in the here and now, while remembering that the present is, in some way, the weaving together of infinite strands of the past. In the Finale (the closing movement), I chose to look at life's offerings, including my own journey of change and self-discovery, with a joyous, unbounded energy. Though we will all evolve over time and leave some things behind, we will always have our memories (if we nurture them) and can always visit the places we came from.

It is my absolute honor to write for my dear friends Trio Barclay, and share this music with you this evening. 

Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, composed in 1914, stands as one of the pinnacles of the French composer’s chamber music output, blending technical brilliance with profound emotional depth. This year, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, and this work, in particular, offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on his legacy. Known for his exceptional orchestration and his ability to evoke vivid imagery through sound, Ravel’s Piano Trio exemplifies his distinctive voice, marked by both impressionistic and neo-classical influences.

The Trio was composed in a burst of creativity in the summer of 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I, and it demonstrates Ravel’s mastery in balancing tradition with innovation. The work is structured in four movements: Modéré, Pantoum, Passacaille, and Finale. The opening movement introduces a sensuous, lyrical theme, played with intimate transparency, while the second movement—based on a Malaysian dance form—employs a sophisticated rhythmic structure, creating an almost hypnotic atmosphere. The third movement, Passacaille, is a set of variations over a ground bass, demonstrating Ravel’s contrapuntal finesse and his ability to combine Baroque forms with modern harmonies. The final movement bursts with energy, featuring bold, rhythmic patterns and a virtuosic interplay between the instruments.

Ravel’s use of color and texture in the Piano Trio is striking, with each instrument—violin, cello, and piano—playing an equally vital role. His highly refined sense of sound is on full display, with subtle contrasts of dynamics and tone color combined with swirling rhythms that propel and invigorate the music.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, this Trio serves as a testament to his genius and his ability to transcend genres, weaving a work that is both forward-looking and deeply connected to the rich tradition of chamber music.

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