TRIO FOR CLARINET, CELLO AND PIANO
Contemporary Music for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano
This trio for clarinet, cello, and piano belongs to a long and expressive chamber‑music tradition, offering a rich palette of colors, textures, and dramatic interplay. The combination of winds, strings, and keyboard creates a uniquely flexible ensemble capable of lyrical warmth, rhythmic vitality, and intricate counterpoint. This page provides an overview of the work, including instrumentation details, program notes, and score information.
Like a Whirling Sand Clock
Duration:
10.5 minutes
Instrumentation:
clarinet, cello, piano
Year Composed:
2006
Written For:
Chen Halevi
Commissioned by:
In memory of Adele and John Gray
Premiere Performance:
31 March, 2007
Tel Aviv, Israel
Chen Halevi, clarinet
Anssi Karttunen, cello
Ofra Yitzhaki, piano
Program Notes:
Program Notes:
While composing Like a Whirling Sand Clock for clarinet, cello, and piano, I was preoccupied with the concept of time as a leaking process, mirroring a larger phenomenon best described as a regression in time. In September 2006, I sensed that the world stood at a pivotal moment: on one hand, various religious and political forces sought deeper roots in what they perceived as absolute truth, yet these ideas, particularly religious ones, were profoundly fundamentalist, reactionary, and narrow-minded.
For me, these clashes of ideas and ideals echoed the dark days of the Middle Ages and the Crusades, when people were killed in the name of blind belief. Today, with humanity's sophisticated mass destruction tools, one wonders where we are headed and what tomorrow will bring.
The sensation of time slipping away intensified as contemporary events increasingly resembled narratives from history books. I envisioned a perpetually whirling sand clock, dropping grains of sand one by one into the upper tube rather than the lower one—a visual metaphor for the process of regressing in time, which I aimed to depict through sound.
Like a Whirling Sand Clock was generously commissioned in memory of Adele and John Gray for clarinetist Chen Halevi.
Audio
Score Sample
Score of Like a Whirling Sand Clock, for clarinet, cello and piano
About Clarinet–Cello–Piano Trio Music
The clarinet–cello–piano trio has inspired composers from Beethoven and Brahms to Zemlinsky, Bruch, and many contemporary voices. Its unique blend of timbres allows for expressive lyricism, rich harmonic depth, and agile interplay between the three instruments. Modern works often explore extended techniques, rhythmic complexity, and dramatic contrasts, while still embracing the ensemble’s traditional warmth and clarity. These compositions contribute to the expanding contemporary repertoire for clarinet, cello, and piano, offering performers technically engaging and artistically rewarding pieces suitable for both recital and professional performance settings.
Clarinet–Cello–Piano Trio Repertoire List
Alexander von Zemlinsky: Trio in D Minor, Op. 3 (1896/1900)
A bridge from late Romanticism to modernism, featuring lush harmonies influenced by Brahms with early 20th-century chromaticism.
Gabriel Fauré: Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 120 (1923)
Originally for violin, the composer’s own transcription for clarinet offers a transparent, lyrical, and introspective French aesthetic.
Robert Muczynski: Fantasy Trio, Op. 26 (1969)
A staple of the repertoire known for its driving, "Bartokian" asymmetric rhythms and transparent, energetic American textures.
Nino Rota: Trio (1973)
Composed by the famed film scorer, this work features lush harmonies and dramatic character shifts evocative of cinema.
Henryk Górecki: Lerchenmusik (Recitativa i Ariosa), Op. 53 (1984)
A significant minimalist work inspired by Polish folk music, characterized by organic growth and profound simplicity.
Helmut Lachenmann: Allegro Sostenuto (1986–88)
A landmark of contemporary music exploring "instrumental musique concrète" and unconventional sound production techniques for the trio.
Isang Yun: Rencontre (1986)
A mature work by the Korean-German composer that blends Eastern philosophical concepts with Western avant-garde techniques.
Paul Schoenfield: Trio (1990)
A virtuosic blend of classical forms with popular American styles, including elements of jazz, klezmer, and vaudeville.
Jörg Widmann: Nachtstück (1998)
An atmospheric 21st-century exploration of shadows and nocturnal colors, utilizing the clarinet’s extreme ranges and delicate textures.
Lior Navok: Like a Whirling Sand Clock (2006)
A journey exploring the concept of "leaking time" as a metaphor for social and political regression. It features innovative textures, contemporary harmonies, and a captivating interplay between the three instruments.
Per Nørgård: Spell (1973)
A seminal work from the Danish composer's "infinity series" period, featuring intricate rhythmic patterns and mathematical structures
Johannes Maria Staud: Wasserzeichen (2015)
A contemporary Austrian work focusing on fluid musical gestures and the "voice of white chalk" imagery.