American Composers.

Pacific Trio performs:

  • Music of American Composers

On this CD, the Pacific Trio performs works by composers who represent the true essence of American classical music forms: Gershwin, Copland, Robert Muczynski and Leonard Bernstein.

Featured works include Gershwin’s Suite from Porgy and Bess, Aaron Copland’s Study on a Jewish Theme, Bernstein’s Piano Trio, and Muczynski’s First Piano Trio, Op.24.

Bernstein:

  • Piano trio

Copland:

  • Vitebsk – study on a Jewish theme for violin, cello & piano

Gershwin:

  • Porgy and Bess – Suite (arr. J Smith, J Heifetz & L Clutterham)
  • Prelude No. 2

Muczynski:

  • Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 24

Performed by the Pacific Trio: Edith Orloff (piano), Roger Wilkie (violin), and John Waltz (cello)

Founded in 1979 in Los Angeles, the Pacific Trio has played more than 1,000 concerts to audiences in the USA, Canada and Europe. Beside its concert tours, it also works as trio-in-residence at Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in Southern California.

While the idea of arrangements for piano trio is great, the issue is that the quality of these arrangement is somewhat uneven. The arrangement for piano trio of music from Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’ is particularly so, as adapted from arrangements by Brooks Smith, accompanist to Jascha Heifetz.

Leonard Bernstein wrote his piano trio for some friends when he was a teenage student. It is actually quite pleasing in most of its sixteen – minute duration.

Aaron Copland’s one movement trio, ‘Vitebsk’, comes from his earliest years (1928) and is based on a Jewish theme.

 

Here is the Pacific Trio playing Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin:

 

 

And next, here is the Piano Trio by Leonard Bernstein, performed by the Newstead Trio:

 

Finally, here is the Trio Explorer, performing Aaron Copland’s “Vitebsk”

 

 

Tags: Pacific Trio, Bernstein, Gershwin, Copland