Discourse—Program Note

Six for Three for piano trio is a short work based on a fundamental ‘groove’ in 3/8 and rhythmic and intervallic transformations of that groove. These grooves underpin a principal melodic theme, variations of that theme, an opposing theme, and finally a wild combination of the two. The piece’s dramatic shape is indicated by expressive markings that range from ‘smoothly’ in the introduction through ‘lively’ at the main theme, ‘intensely’ at the opposing theme, ‘furiously’ at the fusion of the main and opposing themes, and ‘wildly’ in the short coda. The title itself can be interpreted in at least a couple of different ways: ‘six minutes for three performers’, or ‘intervals of a sixth for three-eight time.’