A SENSE OF PLACE
RAVEL, SHOSTAKOVICH & SHENG

"Triple Helix...reveals first-rate artistry here...the players provide each score with an individual 'sense of place'...Mystery abounds in the group's performance of Ravel's Trio...Triple Helix pays keen attention to the [Shostakovich's] expressive contrasts...[Bayla] Keyes, Rhonda Rider and Lois Shapiro find wonder and suspense in this ethereal eastern journey [in the Sheng], as they do wherever they travel musically on this cherishable disc."
GRAMOPHONE, DECEMBER 2004

"The Triple Helix...give smashing performances... These stunning performances...are captured in beautifully detailed sonics that give appropriate emphasis to the nuances in all these scores."
ATLANTA AUDIO SOCIETY, NOVEMBER 2004

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Known for "wildly imaginative, emotionally charged virtuoso playing," Triple Helix was named "2002 Musicians of the Year" and for three consecutive years "Best Chamber Music in Boston" by The Boston Globe. The group’s "splendid musical chemistry and virtually perfect dynamic balance" were heralded by The Los Angeles Times.

Each of the three pieces on this recording is written from the core of the composer’s heritage or early experience, capturing the heartbeat and cadences of a people in a particular landscape at a particular point in time. The Ravel contains the haunting and lilting qualities of his native Basque music. Shostakovich captures some of the stark and grisly atmosphere of the Nazi death camps, along with other moments in his life during that period. And the Sheng evokes the harmonies and timbres of the Chinese folk instruments of his native land.

This exceptional ensemble was formed in 1995 by three internationally acclaimed chamber musicians: Bayla Keyes, founding violinist of the Muir String Quartet; Rhonda Rider, founding cellist of the Lydian String Quartet; and Lois Shapiro, New York Concert Artists Guild Award-winner. The players serve on the faculties of several Boston-area institutions: Boston University, Boston Conservatory, Wellesley College, and Longy School of Music. Together, the players are Ensemble-in-Residence at Wellesley College.

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RAVEL Trio in A minor (1914) SHOSTAKOVICH Trio No.2 in E minor, Op.67 (1944) BRIGHT SHENG Four Movements for Piano Trio (1990)