Score 0-571-55540-3 (fp) and parts 0-571-55541-1 (fp) on sale

My First String Trio was composed in 1989 for the 25th anniversary of the Nash Ensemble and is dedicated to them and their founder and Artistic Director, Amelia Freedman. All four movements include a motif which spells out the name NASH. I have translated this as E (which would be spelled 'En'), A, E flat, and B (the last two represented by their German equivalents). The motif AF also appears in the second movement. The Trio is concise, its four movements lasting around ten minutes. The brief opening movement is straightforwardly melodic and diatonic. The scherzo and slow movement are a pair of opposites: the present and the past, perhaps. The scherzo is a study in motor rhythm, and turns to good purpose (so I hope!) some of the clichés of the contemporary vernacular. The last movement, after an introduction featuring each instrument in turn, is a gentler variation of the first. String Trio No. 1 was commissioned by the Nash Ensemble with financial assistance from IBM UK Ltd.

© David Matthews