Classical Music | Music for Trio

Recorded on 01/27/2010, uploaded on 08/12/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Three Nocturnes for Violin, Cello and Piano         Ernest Bloch

I.   Andante; II.  Andante Quieto; III. Tempestoso

Ernest Bloch's Three Nocturnes were written in 1924 in Cleveland where the Swiss-born Bloch was serving as director of the newly formed Cleveland Institute of Music. The work is Neoclassical in style and tightly knit.  Each nocturne is characterized by restraint in both expression and style and depicts a different aspect of the night.

In the Andante movement, the night is tranquil and mysterious with only the hints of a melody trying to emerge. In contrast, the second nocturne is a tender lullaby, strung out in long, expressive phrases. As the movement progresses, Bloch develops the theme while the mood remains calm and serene. The final nocturne suggests "the pent-up excitement of a night chase," and true to Bloch's Tempestoso marking, its opening is stormy, passionate, and impetuous. A return to the second nocturne's theme and tempo offers a brief respite, but the dark clouds return before the music dissolves into thin air.    Alon Goldstein