Richard Lane

Trio No. 1

In 1963, I played in a trio with the astonishingly beautiful combination of clarinet, viola and piano. Mozart, with his trio ''Kegelstatt'' (KV. 498) from August 9, 1786, probably composed the first and probably best-known work for this instrumentation. Others followed: Max Bruch, Robert Schumann, Alfred Uhl, Leo Smit, to name but a few. At the end of 1960, I suggested to my composer friend Richard Lane that he write a new work for our ensemble. It was completed in September 1963 and we premiered it at Carnegie Recital Hall on January 24, 1964 with Naomi Drucker, clarinetist and Miriam Brickman Birch on piano. Almost twenty years later, Richard Lane wrote a second trio for the same formation (Trio No. 2, 1982 - BIM MCX51), which I performed a few years later. With the present Trio No. 1, Richard Lane once again demonstrates his talent for writing beautiful, lyrical and sonically exceptional music for these three instruments. This three-movement work, which is structured in a classical form, is highly sophisticated chamber music and an important addition to this repertoire. Myron Rosenblum Sunnyside, New York Publisher's note: Richard Lane refrained from giving fingering indications, especially for the string parts, on the assumption that the performer would know what was natural and musical. At rehearsals, he revealed his style preferences, but trusted the musicians' judgment and said: ''You know what is most suitable...''