Program Listing
Trivia (2005)
Michael Gandolfi (1956)
I. Multiverse
II. Time Traveler
III. Coursing
Program Notes
Trivia was written for and is dedicated to the Weilerstein Trio, which is comprised of
my two New England Conservatory colleagues, Vivian and Donald Weilerstein and their
daughter Alisa. The title Trivia derives from its Latin roots: tri- three, via - road or path.
It is an obvious reference to the many 'threes' of the piece (i.e., the piano trio, the
Weilerstein family, the three-movement form, etc.) as well as the branching pathways
that form the arc of the entire work.
The first movement, Multiverse, was inspired by my reading of Richard Wolfson's
book 'Simply Einstein' in which a fascinating chapter is written about our universe being
"but one small branch of a possibly infinite Multiverse. What we think of as the Big
Bang origin and evolution of the Universe is …simply the budding and subsequent
expansion of a new branch from a pre-existing cosmos." In this scenario, the universe is
self-replicating and inflationary. This concept is reflected in the movement's formal
design; a recurring (but modulating) slow theme serves as the origin for several active
and contrapuntal 'multiverses' or branching sections, each of which derives from similar
source materials that unfold in dissimilar ways.
The second movement, Time Traveler, was also inspired by readings in Wolfson's
book in which Einstein's 'reference frames,' time dilation concepts and time travel are
explained. Time Traveler similarly manipulates musical time (actual and historical). A
complex polyrhythmical structure (15 against 12 against 10) is expressed at the outset of
the movement. It is subsequently and periodically interrupted by quotes from Guillaume
de Machaut’s isorhythmic motet, S'il Estoit Nulz, that are tethered to the 12-strand of the
polyrhythm. (The quotes are sometimes presented in an unadorned manner, evoking the
14th century. Other treatments are harmonized in ways that are reminiscent of more
recent times.) Ultimately the quotes migrate to the 10-strand which allows the motet to
be heard in its proper tempo. This occurs while the full polyrhythmical grid is sounding,
resulting in a merging of both worlds (old and new, isorhythmic and polyrhythmic) and a
completion of this time-travel episode.
Coursing, the final movement, as implied by the title, is a fast-paced finale. Its overall
rustic character is complemented by a prominent, recurring pentatonic melody that is
presented in the piano part. A short and playful development section in the middle of the
movement temporally reinterprets the opening motives of the piece. This initiates a
recapitulation that brings both temporal realizations together and completes the harmonic
path inherent in opening materials of the movement.
Michael Gandolfi