Antonin Dvořák had great success importing eastern European conceits into the western European classical tradition.  Rather than using the traditional ‘sonata’ schema, his fourth piano trio is rooted in the Ukranian idea of ‘Dumky’ and established its form through the juxtaposition of wildly different emotions.   When Dvořák came to America, he suggested that American composers should look to their own indigenous music—especially that of Native Americans and African Americans—in order to find their musical voice.  Arthur Foote was a New England composer who, unlike many of his peers, never traveled to Europe to study; although his music is strongly Wagnerian, Native American elements and proto-jazz ideas assume a prominent role in his second piano trio.  Nearly 100 years after Dvořák made his suggestion, Paul Schoenfield continued the tradition of finding musical inspiration close to home:  Café Music is full of references to American music, from ragtime and big band to movie music and blues.

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Works to be performed on the “Their Roots are Showing” program include:

Arthur Foote, Piano Trio in Bb Major, Op. 65
Paul Schoenfield, Café Music
Antonin Dvořák, Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 90 “Dumky”