Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano (desde 1´42´´)

Jean Françaix (1912- 1997) Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano Performed by Courtney Wise (flute), Sungbin Choi (cello), and Sandra Gu (piano) April 22, 2012 San Francisco Conservatory of Music French composer Jean Françaix was a naturally musical child who began composing at the age of six and was particularly gifted at playing the piano. Encouraged by his parents (his father a musicologist, composer and pianist, and his mother a voice teacher), young Françaix took composition lessons from the famed and wildly influential composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, who also taught Aaron Copland. Boulanger regarded Françaix as one of her best students. Although he proved himself a highly proficient pianist, Françaix made his mark as a particularly prolific composer, writing works right up until his death in 1997. Françaix's trio for flute, cello and piano is a gem of French witticism. The first movement is a happy-go-lucky discussion between instruments, during which some rivalry between duple and triple occurs. The second movement, marked teneramente, is a tender, lush musical landscape that could truly melt hearts. The third movement, scherzando, can best be described as a devious joke in 5/8 meter, and the final movement, strangely entitled Transition, contains a brief interlude which leads into a lively finale.