For string trio. Intricate and spirited, with wistful passion. In three movements, but just eight and a half minutes long.
Commissioned by David Yang, for the Cret String Trio: Stephanie Zyzak, violin; David Yang, viola; Clancy Newman, cello. Premiered in Philadelphia by Poor Richard’s Chamber Music Society (David Lang, director), September 27, 2025.
The musicians cooperate to create almost every musical phrase. See the brackets in the score excerpt above, showing where each instrument, for just a moment, plays the melody.
There are solos for each instrument, in which I quote the Schoenberg String Trio, Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” and Clancy Newman’s transcription of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
I’m grateful to Clancy for co-composing the cello solo with me, and for invaluable help with the notation of the piece.
Hear a computer demo (the premiere wasn’t recorded):