Three Stories

This concise, playful, and tuneful work for piano and string trio is a proven crowd-pleaser—fun to play and fun to listen to. The music is tightly and skillfully constructed. The first movement, “A Very Short Odyssey,” is an epic adventure packed (efficiently!) into about two minutes. The second movement, “Song Without Words,” is a lush, harmonically shifting evocation of nature. The third movement, “American Quodlibet,” is a zany romp through many different traditional American tunes, tied together with an original melody, and with a rousing ending. FYI a quodlibet is a piece of music in which existing tunes are woven together and/or piled on top of each other. Earlier in Peter’s career, he toured as a pianist with Prof. Peter Schickele and his “Intimate P.D.Q. Bach” show. Schickele was the modern master of the quodlibet; “American Quodlibet” is (this) Peter’s tribute to his former boss. The high-quality simulated demo will give you a good idea of the piece—check it out! Total time: ca. 7 mins.