7 Aug 2021

ROTA: Trio for flute, violin and piano

From Music Alive, 8:00 pm on 7 August 2021
Trio Disordinata

Trio Disordinata Photo: Chamber Music New Zealand

The members of Trio Disordinata are: Louis Liu (flute) from King’s College, Sarah Sumin Lee (violin) from Tauranga Girls’ College, and Geoffrey Hill (piano) from Westlake Boys’ High School.

Nino Rota is best known for his brilliant award-winning film scores, which include two of Franco Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films, and for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppola's American crime series, the Godfather trilogy.

Nino Rota’s chamber music spans four decades and charts his rise from child prodigy to one of the great composers of the 20th century.

Rota revealed his motivation for writing, saying: "When I'm creating at the piano, I tend to feel happy; but - the eternal dilemma - how can we be happy amid the unhappiness of others? I'd do everything I could to give everyone a moment of happiness. That's what's at the heart of my music."

Trio Disordinata chose a playful trio, written by Rota in the late 1950s for flute, violin and piano, which they believe matches the chaos and beauty of his film music.

Recorded 7 August 2021 at The Piano, Christchurch by RNZ Concert

Producer/Sound engineer: Darryl Stack