Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Trio, for violin, clarinet and piano (1999)
Ensemble Phorminx
Recorded live in Tübingen, 4/5/1999.
Art by Thomas Eggerer
Trio, for violin, clarinet and piano (1999)
Ensemble Phorminx
Recorded live in Tübingen, 4/5/1999.
Art by Thomas Eggerer

![William Schuman - Three Colloquies
Three Colloquies, for horn and orchestra (1979)
Philip Myers, horn
New York Philharmonic
Zubin Mehta
William Schuman wrote Three Colloquies at the request of the New York Philharmonic. Schuman saw an opportunity to expand his horn knowledge following a horn solo in his work Young Dead Soldiers. He didnt want to write a horn concerto as a starting point; he wanted to avoid it becoming a work full of virtuosity. The working title French Horn Fantasy was also dropped because the composer realized it wouldnt become a fantasy either. He ended up with the title Three Colloquies, colloquies meaning conversation.
The work consists of three movements which must be played without a break:
I. Rumination (meditation); in this largely slow movement, the horn gradually emerges as a solo instrument; the movement ends with a repeat of the opening; an important part is reserved for the timpani.
II. Renewal; the fast movement; itself has a three-part structure, in which the horn makes contact with the orchestra; the movement is concluded by a fading timpani part.
III. Remembrance; the theme from the first movement returns in several orchestral groups; the work ends with the horn heard over muted strings.
Philip F. Myers, hornist with the NYP, was the soloist at the premiere on January 24, 1980, conducted by Zubin Mehta. This ensemble performed the work several times afterward. They are also the performers on the only recording, released in 1987 by New World Records. [NW 326-2]
Art by Thomas Andréa Barbey William Schuman - Three Colloquies](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fSYtFz9YC9o/mqdefault.jpg)
![Elena Kats-Chernin - Cadences, Deviations and Scarlatti
Cadences, Deviations and Scarlatti, for large chamber ensemble (1995)
Ensemble Modern
Peter Rundel
Recorded live in Frankfurt, 4 March, 1997.
The piece Cadences, Deviations and Scarlatti, composed as a commission from the Sydney Alpha Ensemble with support from the Australia Council for the Arts, was honored with the Classical Music Award of the Australian Music Centre and by the APRA performing rights society as the best composition by an Australian composer. [boosey.com]
Art by Vicki Varvaressos Elena Kats-Chernin - Cadences, Deviations and Scarlatti](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fWbmBi1Luiw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Georges Aperghis - Triangle carré
Triangle carré, for string quartet and percussion trio (1989)
Arditti String Quartet
Trio Le Cercle
1er Mouvement
2d Mouvement [5:34]
3e Mouvement [9:05]
Yes, it was my idea to create this unconventional combination. It brings together two opposing traditions: I wanted to create a kind of orchestra from nowhere, and I was interested to see what possibilities for unity or conflict would arise. I dont know if the piece is good, but I think its a good idea: the differences in behavior between each group are very interesting!
Its about pushing the boundaries of two or three opposing ideas to see how interesting their friction is. For example, the combination of a string quartet and a more or less folk-influenced percussion trio, playing instruments from all over the world, singing, shouting, has to create friction: otherwise, Ive wasted my time. I want to hear that friction, not a pretty piece of chamber music.
I ask the performers, according to my needs, what is possible and what isnt. There are problems that dont arise when working with abstract data, but which appear with physical data: for example, the fact that sounds are forte or piano, or that they all fall together in a certain way, requires that they appear within a process of dramatization. When events are no longer governed by an abstract framework, or by chance, but when one senses a body that breathes and lives, there is a dramatization. My concern is that it not be the kind found in the nineteenth century! Georges Aperghis
Art by Clive Head Georges Aperghis - Triangle carré](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fs3hESHDrqQ/mqdefault.jpg)






