Trio About Rotation

For Violin, Accordion, and Piano

John McDonald

Op. 444 (2008-2009)

Third Floor Press

Medford, MA 02155

F3P

John McDonald

Trio About Rotation, Op. 444 (2008-2009)

for violin, accordion, and piano

Commissioned by and composed specifically for AXIS (Elliot Cless, violin and Philip Acimovic, piano, co-directors; Michael

McLaughlin, accordion), Trio About Rotation is a piece that keeps starting over. In the fragile opening accordion solo, a phrase

struggles to complete itself, adding something with each ensuing version. This music comes back throughout the piece, first in a deep

chorus for the full trio, in a miniscule manifestation for accordion and violin, and finally as a distant fragment. This pervasive fi-agile

music has a contrast, however. A raucous, twisted dance section intercuts the fragility twice; a third interruption yields a list of re-

starts that can't seem to get going. They lead perilously to the previously-mentioned final fragment.

Throughout the trio, the instruments switch parts, effectively rotating through most of the possible passages they could

potentially play. I hope this creates a relatively complex circular feelingone in which we are moved but nevertheless remain

somehow stationary.

March 6, 2009

it

JSS'

J -J

1 !

-I

s if-

"7. J1

"1

y V

>

1?

V

JR. V

v

-I

-H

s^ 4

' c:^

4

if 1 o S '^5 "^

:t11^

'

0- )

r Z.

9 St

1

CO

3ir I-

V

f o

< 2.

o

m

V

S

'A,

-hC

O

..?.,0

-^^

-0

I

4

1^

f ^

1$

:

w

- r -.sr- 1

-Si

o

r

e s TO

ir -s

r I