# Trio for Flute & Clarinet in Bb & Cello



## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Here's a recording of a short trio I was commissioned this spring. I composed it during the summer months and earlier this week I recorded the trio that commissioned the piece from me playing it. They are also performing it in a small concert this Sunday. I wanted to create an energetic and lighthearted piece, which is very clear in its thematic and formal structures.

The piece alternates between a few recurring thematic elements, which all have their own character. The first one of such appears on the very beginning of the piece. It's a calm chordal passage, that introduces the pitch-material of the piece (the piece is loosely dodecaphonic in its pitch organisation). You will notice that I return to this idea all the time during the piece.

Another recurring idea is the aggressive unison repetition of chords in climatic passages of the piece, which is a kind of hommage to a similar passage is Holst's Mars. It appears for the first time in measure 9 and later in mm. 35, 84 & 128.

In close relation to this is an idea of rapid repetition of different notes at different beats with the instruments that creates a sort of "field of sounds". You will hear first hints of it already at measure 5, but the first real appearance is in measure 27. This idea appears always before the repeated chords in unison-idea, of which I mentioned earlier.

The third recurring theme is the "two against one"-idea where in the first two appearances (mm. 15-21; 40-48) the cello plays a rapid tremolo-melody against sustained sounds of the clarinet and the flute. In the third appearance (mm. 108-112) the roles reverse, and the cello plays sustained notes against tremolos of the woodwinds.

I hope you like it!


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Those opening chords are very haunting and beautiful Pekka. Nothing to say except it's another great piece that takes one 'away' for a while. I particularly like the instrumentation and how you've used it.

As I write I am now listening to your 'In A Dream' which is another very effective piece. can you post a link to the other 3 pieces in that work too? I'd like to hear the rest of them.


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## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks Mike!

Sure, I can post the rest of the piano-collection here. It's a pedagogical work intended for piano students of the music school I work in. Because of this, the styles in that collection vary from piece to piece.

The first one in that collection is called "In the Afternoon", which is a small tonal study.






The second one was "In a Dream", which you already listened.

The third one is called "Scherzetto", which is a bartok-mikrokosmos-influenced little piece:






The last one is called "farewell", which was influenced by Schumann's "farewell" pieces found in many of his piano collections, although my piece is simpler than his (It's basically just a study in arpeggiated chords).


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

...what a great set. I discerned a Corea influence in the first piece, his 'Children's Songs'. I had a play through them in my studio following the YT score...really nice and satisfying. Corea, Messiaen, Bartok, Schumann and Koivisto...a good combo.


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## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks! I've heard about Corea's Children's Songs, but never actually listened to the pieces. I now listened to some of them, and you're right, there is certainly similarities between my song and his collection. I'm somewhat familiar with his "My Spanish Heart" album as it was something my father always listened when I was a kid. That and Al DiMeola's "Elegant Gypsy".


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I liked In the Afternoon.


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## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks Phil! What did you think of the trio?


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I wasn't ready the first time I listened. But on 2nd hearing I found it very impressive. Reminds me of Stravinsky. I have a bit of trouble assimilating a few parts together particularly in bars 49, 65 and 69, 108-110 (the fluttering had some overtones or something). Maybe I'm just not used to it.


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## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Thanks! Do you mean assimilating as in what you hear and what's written doesn't seem the same? I think 49 and 65 are completely correctly played, in 69 there might be some slight rhythmic differences to the written stuff but that part is very hard to execute perfectly, and I think they nail the mood of that measure. 108-110 is perhaps more on the mf-side dynamically but otherwise it seems correct to me.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Just purely assimilating in my head what's going on. They didn't have the pristine clarity of the other parts. Maybe it just takes a bit of time.


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## pkoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> Just purely assimilating in my head what's going on. They didn't have the pristine clarity of the other parts. Maybe it just takes a bit of time.


I understand! Generally in this piece I wanted to make the individual parts quite independent and at times clashing against each other, rhythmically speaking. I've found that this type of rhythmic thinking pushes the players for more expressive output, so I've began to use it more in my compositions.


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