Born in 1938 into a musical family, John Harbison studied at Harvard, and with Roger Sessions at Princeton. He is one of America's most accomplished musicians, with four symphonies, three operas and a Pulitzer Prize-winning cantata to his credit. Of his Piano Trio No. 2, Harbison writes: `[It] makes little contact with the Mozart-to-Shostakovich central trio repertoire, and a great deal with the transparency, ambiguity, and shiftiness of Papa Joseph Haydn'. The Gatsby Etudes, `pianistically challenging and fun to play', were written while Harbison was preparing the opera The Great Gatsby for production by the Metropolitan Opera. The Violist's Notebooks were inspired by Bartolomeo Campagnoli's (1751-1827) Caprices for viola, Harbison's own instrument. Other works on this disc include an earlier piano trio and a cello suite, which the composer describes as `baroque in origins, more private, and very compact'.

Tracklist:

Piano Trio No.2 'Short Stories': I. Tale
Piano Trio No.2 'Short Stories': II. Ballad
Piano Trio No.2 'Short Stories': III. Rumors And Reports
Piano Trio No.2 'Short Stories': IV. Enigma
Gatsby Ã‰tudes: I. Parlors
Gatsby Ã‰tudes: II. Parties
Gatsby Ã‰tudes: III. The Green Light
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: I. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: II. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: III. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: IV. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: V. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book I: VI. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: I. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: II. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: III. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: IV. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: V. â€”
The Violist's Notebook, Book II: VI. â€”
10 Micro-Waltzes
Cucaraccia And Fugue: Cucaraccia
Cucaraccia And Fugue: Fugue
Cello Suite: I. Preludio
Cello Suite: II. Fuga - Burletta
Cello Suite: III. Sarabanda
Cello Suite: IV. Giga
Piano Trio No.1

UPC: 636943924327
Label: Naxos American
Release Date: 3.27.07
Format: CD

The Amelia Piano Trio - Piano Trio 2 (CD)