NOTES

Trio in G, K. 564 by Wolfgang A. Mozart

The Baroque trio was originally, a contrapuntal composition in three parts; in chamber music, it was a composition for three players. In the Classic Era, the piano trio began it's development into the form of three equal players that we know today. It started out mostly as a sonata for piano with accompaniment by violin (or flute) and cello but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), along with his predecessor, Joseph Haydn, took the trio form to a more mature level; freeing the cello from the supportive basso continuo part of the baroque era by giving it an equal voice and writing the violin/flute as a separate treble part to the right hand of the piano - not merely doubling it. Mozart was a consummate composer of opera where each character on the stage has a part important in the integrated whole. The same is true for his trios - which make them really fun to play. The Trio in G, K. 564, was thought by some to be, originally, an earlier piano sonata which Mozart later transformed into a full trio. This was due to the fact that there was an autographed piano part but not the other parts and also that the music was simpler than the previous trios. It has been established, however, that either the piano part was written first, perhaps for rehearsal of the difficult passages by the pianist, or the trio was written in parts for an immediate performance and the string parts lost; but the trio was, in fact, written in 1788 as a full trio only. As for the simplicity of the piece, it is much like the last piano concerto - sharing the 6/8 hunting rhythm of the last movement. Other things to listen for: the pastoral nature of the first movement opening with a long-held drone such as would be heard on a musette - French bagpipe of the 17th & 18th centuries, and the theme and variations in 3/8 of the second movement - with the fifth variation being in G minor.

Songs from Einstein's Dreams (2000)** by Paul Hoffman

One day, sometime in 1981, I was improvising at my piano, in my home in Pittsburgh. I made up something I liked. So, I played it over and over again until it was memorized. I might use it later. I was 16 years old.

In the summer of 1996, my friend, Andrew, and I drove to Connecticut to attend a pastoral music convention. On the way, he told me about a book he was reading that dealt with time and EinsteinÕs theory of relativity. Early one morning, I looked out the kitchen windowof the house where we were staying, and saw Andrew sitting on the patio which overlooked a small lake. He was reading his book about time.

In the summer of 1998, my mother came to Boston for a visit. One day we drove up to Salem where we stopped at a bookstore. She bought a book of American etchings of the nineteenth century for me. I was looking for a novel to read when I recognized the book Andrew had been reading two summers before. It was called EinsteinÕs Dreams, by Alan Lightman. I bought it. Cindy also had read the book and we talked about how it would work nicely as a piece of music.

In the fall of 1999, the trio was invited to play at the Duxbury Art Complex for the following season. We were asked to include on our program a piece celebrating the millennium. Our thought was for me to compose a new piece for the trio to play- one that might feature CindyÕs singing. Months passed; no good ideas for the piece.

Around May of 2000, Cindy suggested I use text from EinsteinÕs Dreams for the new piece. I, too, had considered it as a possibility. After all, the millennium celebration was a sort of celebration of time. The project, however, seemed unrealistic since the book contains 30 dreams that Einstein could have had around the time he developed his theory of relativity; each depicting a world and its inhabitants governed by the peculiarities of their time. If I tried to set every dream, the piece would be too long. So, I re-read the book and chose from it passages I thought would work well set to music, narrowing it down to six dreams. Someday, I hope to set more.

While sitting at my piano, improvising some ideas, I came up with a right hand ostinato that I found interesting and fun to play. It had a circular quality to it and might make a good beginning to a song. So, I played it over and over again until it was memorized. I would use it later. I was 16 years old. - notes by Paul Hoffman

Trio (1944) by Bohuslav Martinu

Born in 1890 in Czechoslovakia, Bohuslav Martinu spent his formative years in Paris, France where he studied with Albert Roussel. Blacklisted by the Nazis, Martinu left Paris in 1940, leaving his manuscripts and all belongings behind and eventually arriving in America in 1941. Speaking no English and having no evidence of his talents beyond a few scores, he struggled until Serge Koussevitzky commissioned him to write his first symphony. With renewed confidence, he embarked on a creative run which made him one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His last years were spent in Switzerland.

Martinu is known for his melodious style and command of modern counterpoint. The Trio for flute, cello and piano was composed in 1944. As in most of his works, the traditional format is offset just enough to make the work distinctive. Although a casual listener might detect little of the 20th century in his harmonic language it is a curious fact that none of the three movements of this trio begin and end in the same key. The first movement is a modified ternary form in a joyous allegretto tempo; with rich harnonies and a counterpoint that is brilliant in sound. The slow second movement begins with a long meditative phrase in the piano, has a response by the flute and cello and culminates in a very expressive climax. The poetic end suggests Martinu's Czech origins and hints of Dvorak's harmonies. The third movement, a scherzando in ABA form, is introduced by a pensive flute solo then sings a lively hteme where strong rhythmic elements oppose the melodic ones, creating a very dynamic tension. The middle section is a slow waltz, very sonorous in its contrast to the two outer sections. -notes by Cindy Woolley

*Songs from Einstein's Dreams was renamed In This World for our recording.
**Adapted from the book Einstein's Dreams ©1993 by Alan Lightman. Published by Pantheon Books, NY. Used by permission of the Author, c/o Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc. All rights reserved.

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