Trio da camera – David Evan Thomas

Composer: David Evan Thomas

Instrumentation: oboe, horn, and piano

Duration: approx. 19 minutes

Date Written:  2016

Commissioned by: David Braslau

Premiere: Carrie Vecchione, oboe; Sarah Schmalenberger, horn; Gail Olzewski, piano, 

Program Note:

A three-movement trio with singing melodies, rustic rhythms, and an exhilarating finish. Allegro rustico begins in irregular meters, but settles into a gently lyrical second subject. After a brief, contentious development, the irregularities are swept up in a tornadic coda. Largo solennelle is a stately sarabande, with the wind players finishing each other’s sentences. Allegro amabile contrasts three ideas: an expansive lyrical solo line, a descending scalar melody; and a jocular tune that features hunting-horn fifths. Brief quotations from Stravinsky and Ravel bring the work to a high-spirited conclusion, as the instruments reach beyond the chamber to the concert hall.