Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano

Total duration ca. 12 minutes (1998)
Published by Activist Music (ASCAP).
Three movement work: "Allegro," "Adagio," and "Vivace."
30 pages, 8.5" x 11".

Premiered on November 8, 1998 in Los Angeles, CA.
by Bronwen Jones, clarinet; Marcy Vaj, violin
and Genevieve Lee, piano.

Recorded in August 1999 by Berkeley Price, clarinet;
Nancy Roth, violin and Deon Nielsen Price, piano.

Audio clip performed by Berkeley Price, clarinet;
Nancy Roth, violin and Deon Nielsen Price, piano.

Also related:

Circus of Fleas

Circus of Fleas is the high-speed three minute scherzo from the third movement of "Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano": Vivace.

Flea Circus

Flea Circus is a one minute recording created from the third movement of "Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano": Vivace, recorded by the Price Trio. Created for the 2008 VoxNovus 60 x 60 Project.

Fleas

Fleas is the high-speed three minute scherzo from the third movement of "Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano": Vivace.

Quarks

The same piece, adapted for oboe in lieu of clarinet.

Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano was composed at the suggestion of my dear friend, composer and clarinetist Bronwen Jones, whose wonderful encouragement of my music directly led to my ongoing delight in composing chamber works. This piece was composed using classical sonata form as a point of departure for a modern tonal and rhythmic palette, and each of the three movements evokes a distinctive mood.

The Allegro introduces a strong theme, first heard in the clarinet and then developed for all three instruments throughout the movement. A quiet piano entrance begins the Adagio, an unabashedly romantic gesture that gradually builds with a lyrical, ascending line. The third movement, Vivace, is a fun, raucous sort of gypsy dance that cavorts through bitonality and shifting meters and ends the entire Trio with a big grin.

"...sharply rendered..."

—Steven E. Ritter, American Record Guide Nov/Dec 2001

"...truly interesting and very lovely.."

— Jeff Gower, The Delius Festival Report, April 1999

Award winner, Best Instrumental Music category
from the Composers Guild

Award winner, Best Performance category
from the Delius Association of Jacksonville, Florida.