Thulathi (2016) for violin, violoncello and piano - ca. 9'

PERUSAL SCORE

PURCHASE - $60 (Score AND Parts)

Recipient of the Gena Raps Piano Chamber Prize

Premiered April 20, 2016: Isabel Ong (violin), Yu Yu Liu (cello) and Michael Lenahan (piano) at Alice Tully Hall in New York, NY

Other performances: Music from Copland House (2017)

PROGRAM NOTE

Thulathi (‘trio’ in Arabic) was written as a way to merge the tradition of Middle Eastern string improvisation within the confines of one of the most common Western ensembles, the piano trio. The work’s main improvistory-like melody is presented three times, with short interludes between each iteration that structurally resemble refrains often heard in Arabic music. The piano is treated as sort of an outsider to the violin and cello, a typically Western instrument that constantly seeks to be a part of the fray.