This violin, cello, and piano trio is the first piece I've written that doesn't include at least one wind instrument. It starts with a romantic melody played by both violin and cello, followed by a more energetic rhythmic piece reminiscent of eastern European music, followed by a 5/4 passage similar to Turkish music, followed by a rhythmic section representing India, and ending with a melodic in pentatonic scale representing China. The last is the melody in my composition, Theme and Variations for Er Hu (2-string Chinese violin) and Orchestra. The whole journey takes about 6 minutes. An elderly cello-playing friend assured me that the rapidly moving pizzicatos were quite playable. The audio clip is computer playback. You can hear and see an outstanding performance of this, and four others of my pieces, by top-notch Bulgarian professional musicians in a concert at the American Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, June 19, 2020. It was arranged for by my son Justin, a Foreign Service Officer and deputy chief of mission, and his colleagues at the Embassy. The link to the YouTube recording is below.
Journey East: Western Then Eastern Europe, Middle East, India, China (Piano trio)
