Chamber Music Cello, Piano, Violin

SKU: PR.414411630

Composed by Shulamit Ran. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 28+28+20+24+20+24 pages. Duration 20 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #414-41163. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.414411630).

ISBN 9781491114551. UPC: 680160089956. 9.5 x 13 inches.

EXCURSIONS is a one-movement work exploring two “characters.” A rhapsodic, descending passage is introduced by the cello, followed by a  static, chorale-like phrase for the violin and cello. Their individual developments are separated by a slow, contrasting middle section. The composer has written: “This is analogous to situations in life: we stand by a crossroad, choosing one option and forfeiting the other. But in art, the realm of the imagination, we can perhaps afford to pursue more than one route to its ultimate destination… or can we? It is symbolic that in this work both roads eventually lead to the same place.”.
Excursi ons for violin, cello and piano, is a one-movement work of tripartite structure in which materials explored in the first of three large sections are brought back in the last section.  The traditional statement-contrast-restat ement form, which is readily suggested by such a description, is, however, not at all in the mold in which the work is cast.  Rather, my aim was to subject the essential materials of the piece (two “characters” –the rhapsodic, descending passage played by the cello in the very opening and, later, a static, slow moving, chorale-like phrase for the violin and cello) to two entirely different developments separated by a slow, contrasting middle section.  This is analogous to an exploration of the ramifications that two divergent choices made by the same person might lead to.  In life, as we stand by a crossroad, choosing one option usually means having to forfeit the other.  But in art, the realm of the imagination, we can perhaps afford to pursue more than one route to its ultimate destination…or can we?  It is, I believe, symbolic that in this work both roads eventually lead to the same place: in composing Excursions, it seemed absolutely inescapable that at the end the slow, contrasting middle sections – both more resigned and peaceful than the battling spirits of the outer parts – should return briefly to end the work. The piano trio combination (once highly favored, but to this composer still as challenging today) is approached here as a collaborative effort of three equal soloists – partners.  Of the available pairings, the two strings find themselves occasionally approached as a team pitted against the piano.  The cello-piano combination is also not uncommon here, and there is an extended violin cadenza toward the end of the piece.  The writing for the three instruments is closely and at times interlinked, but the players are all instructed to play from scores. Excursions was first performed at Brandeis University in 1982.

By Gabriel Faure. Edited by Howat. For violin (viola), piano. Op.78. Published by C.F. Peters.

Violin and Piano (Violin)

SKU: HL.14004213

Composed by Lennox Berkeley. Music Sales America. Classical. Book [Softcover]. Composed 2002. 56 pages. Chester Music #CH55778. Published by Chester Music (HL.14004213).

9.0x12.0x0.175 inches.

Five Pieces for Violin and Orchestra was commissioned by Frederick Grinke and completed on 20 December 1961. The BBC Symphony Orchestra with Frederick Grinke (violin) and conducted by the composer, gave the first performance on 31 July 1962 at the Royal Albert Hall, London during the BBC Proms season. This work is so constructed that each piece is complete in itself and can be played separately, while at the same time the whole set of five constitutes a structural unit. A basic motif consisting of a rising semitone followed by a falling tone, and its inversion plays an important part in every piece. Thus the first piece, which is of a slow and meditative character, begins with this theme in the bass. It is also heard in the first entry of the solo part, and thereafter every episode is in some way derived from it. The next piece, a vigorous and strongly marked 'allegro', uses the semitone of the original figure as its starting point. A second theme appears, first on the horns and is later taken up by the solo violin, while a third section has the initial idea as its accompaniment. Next comes an extended scherzo in free form very closely based on initial motif. The fourth is a purely melodic piece containing allusions in its middle section to the basic figure. Here the strings only are used for accompaniment. In the first section, violas and cellos are divided in the middle section, and all the strings are used in the last, which is otherwise an almost exact repetition of the opening. The Finale is a lighter movement than the others, concerned mainly with giving the soloist material for display, but not unconnected with what has gone before.

Chamber Music Cello, Piano, Violin

SKU: CF.MXE112

Composed by Paul Lansky. Sws. Set of Score and Parts. 32+8+8 pages. Duration 18 minutes. Carl Fischer Music #MXE112. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.MXE112).

ISBN 9781491156766. UPC: 680160915309. 9 x 12 inches.

Angles for Piano Trio plays with a variety of textures and timbres that can be produced on the piano. Each of the four movements takes a different textural or procedural angle. The first movement, With Pluck, uses a lot of pizzicato in the strings, with virtually no use of the pedal in the piano. The second movement, Take a Bow, uses extensive double stops in the strings. The third movement, About a Minute Waltz, is percussive and rhythmic, and the last movement, A Sad Song, contrasts repetitions of a straightforward lyrical stanza with rhapsodic interludes.