Alex Shapiro, composer: Piano Trio No. 1: Elegy

Piano Trio No. 1: Elegy

Dedicated to my late father, Ivan Shapiro.

(Piano, Violin and Cello).
Total duration ca. 8 minutes (1999)
Published by Activist Music (ASCAP).
One movement work. 8 pages, 8.5" x 11".

Premiered on April 2, 2000 in Bakersfield, CA.
by Donna Fraser, violin; Norma Sexton, cello;
and Charles Badami, piano.

Audio clip performed by Dawn Phelps Neal, violin, Marilyn Harris, cello, and Dorothy Spafard Hull, piano.

Also available as:

Elegy

(C trumpet, Cello and Piano).
Total duration ca. 8 minutes (2004)
Published by Activist Music (ASCAP).
One movement work. 20 pages, 8.5" x 11".

Premiered on September 17, 2004 in Spearfish, SD by The Orenunn Trio:
Mark Boren, trumpet; Julianne Boren, cello; and Ellen Bottorf, piano. Audio clip performed by The Orenunn Trio.

Recorded by Trio Chromos: Ismael Betancor, trumpet; Carlos Rivero, cello and José Luis Castillo, piano.

Audio clip performed by Trio Chromos: Ismael Betancor, trumpet; Carlos Rivero, cello and José Luis Castillo, piano.

Also available as:

Elegiac

(Bb Clarinet, Cello and Piano).
Total duration ca. 8 minutes (2010)
Published by Activist Music (ASCAP).
One movement work. 20 pages, 8.5" x 11".

Premiered on June 26, 2010 in Friday Harbor, WA by Chamber Music San Juans: Patricia Kostek, clarinet, Doug Davis, cello, and Arthur Rowe, piano.

Elegy is featured on the Trio Chromos 2007 CD, Trumpet Colors, on Crystal Records 766. Click CD for more info.

"... The melancholy falling theme of Alex Shapiro’s Elegy hints a little at Brahms. The plangent cello line is seconded by the trumpet and supported by the supple piano, which then picks up the mood and all three instruments conjoin in lyric reflection. It was written originally for the standard piano trio of violin, cello and piano... Enjoyable and never trivial... excellently realised by the trio – fine sound as well completes the pleasure."

------— MusicWeb International, December 2007

View pages of the score
Listen to an audio clip of Piano Trio No. 1 for violin, cello and piano
Listen to audio clips of Elegy for trumpet, cello and piano	1.
	2.
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Purchase this score Score and parts available from Activist Music for $30.00.

This Elegy was written shortly after the death of my father at the early age of 69, in the wake of his nine year bout with Alzheimer's disease. It is plaintive and lyrical, and although it uses a modern tonal sensibility, there is a romantic, late nineteenth century presence that informs much of the piece. In my mind, this Trio has moments that faintly echo the Brahms trios which my father adored throughout his life. The opening theme in the violin descends in a variety of ways, and the flow of the music attempts to cry out and fight against such decline. The middle of the piece brings a moving cello melody which swells upward and ultimately plays against the violin motive in an emotional plea. The piece ends with stillness, the quiet, lone voices of the instruments, and the acceptance of loss.D

Elegy, page 1

Elegy, page 4