Piano Trio No. 1

‘In 1991, six months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, I decided to stay in the West during a tour of America at the age of 17. The following year, in which the first two movements of this trio were written, was perhaps the most difficult of my life. I was completely on my own and didn't know whether I would ever see my family again. Many of my works from that time - like this piano trio - were only completed years later. I didn't write the last movement of the trio (Presto) until 1996, four years after the first two.
The first movement (Prélude) is labelled misterioso. The melodic line is angular, the rhythm steady, repeatedly interrupted by accents and syncopations, and the musical movement is essentially polyphonic. The Andante that follows is the emotional centre of the work. It is a lyrical and at the same time tragic dialogue between violin and cello, underpinned by the harmonic pedal of the piano.
The entire structure of this trio is laid out like a great crescendo towards the end. Crescendo is not to be understood here in the dynamic sense, but rather as a gravitational build-up of the material: the first movement is a short scherzo, the second an emotionally charged andante and the third (Presto) a toccata that modulates into parallel C major at its climax. This last movement demands great virtuosity from all the players. The tonal material has an obsessive quality over long stretches, while the middle section seems dead quiet by contrast. The main themes of the first and second movements are incorporated into the toccata. In the climax of the third movement, all the essential themes of the trio come together.’
Lera Auerbach (Translation: Hans-Ulrich Duffek)