Trio for 2 Cellos and Piano

Trio for Two Cellos and Piano

October 18—December 3, 2025
Duration: about 14 minutes (work in progress)

for Bonnie Thron

Full Score, PDF            Cover
Parts for printing (letter size f&b):
Cello 1    Cello 2
Parts for electronic music readers:
Cello 1     Cello 2

I. Overture    [4:20]

As simple as possible but no simpler

II. Lullaby [5:15]

Adagio sempre legato e dolce

III. What goes around comes around [4:40]

IV. Slava Ukraini (in progress, May 2026)

The idea for a piece for two cellos and piano came up during a meal celebrating my 70^th birthday in January 2025 with cellist Bonnie Thron, her husband clarinetist Fred Jacobowitz, and violinist Eric Pritchard. But I had a terrible outer ear infection, and by late February I lost my right eardrum. It was repaired surgically on July 1;I wasn’t in shape to compose until September. After a short piano work, “Happy Birthday to Me”, I finally got started on this new project.

The first three movements went smoothly. My attempts in December for a fourth stalled, restarted, stalled again, and eventually I gave up. In March 2026 I started again, then spent two months composing Revolution Songs, took it up yet again, and will finish shortly. I have changed the name of the piece, and intend on making a version for viola, cello, and piano as well. Stay tuned!

photo: the composer before the premiere of movements 2 and 3 of Symphony No. 3: Protest Poems by the Durham Symphony Orchestra, October 19, 2025