String Trio for Bill (2002) for violin, viola & cello
String Trio for Bill No. 2, “Moribund” (2010) for violinist, violist & ‘cellist

“Imposing … explores the expressive limits of music … somber and impressive.”
-
David Weininger, The Boston Globe

Listen to No. 1
(Harumi Rhodes, Wendy Richman, Sean Neidlinger):


String Trio for Bill No. 2 is in some ways a re-writing of the first String Trio for Bill – that is, it treats the first trio as a form type (such as sonata-allegro or fugue), consisting of certain characteristics. The last movement of No. 2 makes use of the cliché that “everything’s been done” - that nothing new can be said standing on a concert hall stage. The performers are stripped of their sound, and their bodies instead directly choreographed, drawing upon for material the incidental gestures performers on such stages normally produce while performing, gestures which are normally considered “not part of” the music.

No. 1 was premiered in 2003 by Harumi Rhodes, Wendy Richman, and Sean Neidlinger in Jordan Hall, Boston. It was later the basis for the Boston Japan Society’s Takemitsu Prize after being performed by Dinosaur Annex. More recently it has been performed extensively in Norway and the US by Ensemble Chartreuse. Published by the National Library. No. 2 was first performed in full by Athelas Sinfonietta in Copenhagen.