Multiplicities

"For the music presented here, our intention was not only to create music as a trio, but also to explore and develop all of the possible configurations of piano, cello, and bass in solo and duo formats.

We find the concept of “tertium quid” (a third thing that is indefinite and undefined, but is related to two definite or known things) to be both intriguing and relevant to our work together, and our investigation of this phenomenon is manifested in the music presented here.

In structuring this concert, we created the opportunity for both the audience and musicians to engage intimately with each of the components that comprise the trio individually, as well as to experience the complexity of the trio format. In this model, solos and duos are the “definite” or “known” things that we endeavor to more fully understand when working as a trio, which transcends the solo and duo; it is both indefinite and undefinable.

In our explorations together, we continually seek territory that is new for us and for our audiences. To borrow the words of J. Krishnamurti, we are perpetually interested in experiencing “Freedom from the Known” through the process of collective improvisation. The music of “Multiplicities” offers a view into one such exploration, undertaken one April evening in Lisbon."

— Daniel LEVIN, October 2025