Catalogue

Summary:

Prolific composer Elena Ruehr infuses her chamber works with programmatic elements that bring them to expressive and energetic life. Winter Night is the result of a close collaboration with the Boston Trio, who are joined by violist Marcus Thompson in Elena’s piano quartet.

A proliferation of programmatic music infuses Winter Night, composer Elena Ruehr’s seventh release on AVIE, the result of a particularly close collaboration with the international members of the Boston Trio – violinist Irina Muresanu and cellist Mihai Marica, both Romanians, and Korean pianist Heng-Jin Park –who are joined by native New Yorker violist Marcus Thompson in Elena’s piano quartet.

Emotions, energy and the natural world abound in the world premiere recordings of the album’s four works. The title track, Elena’s Piano Trio No. 3, is a four-movement narrative that is by turns lyrical, graceful and melodic. The joyful Piano Trio No. 4, subtitled “Ski, Kayak, Bike”, recalls childhood sports enjoyed with her father, the work’s dedicatee. The three movements of Piano Trio No. 5, “Troubled Times”, confront emotional responses to challenging personal circumstances, yet also seem especially appropriate now given the state of the world’s current events. Piano Quartet No. 2, “Maple”, is an homage to an ancient tree that has stood the tests of time, much like the Stradivarius instruments that were made using the beautiful, dense wood. Elena’s music appropriately references composers working at the same time as the famed luthier, Bach, Pachelbel and Vivaldi.

I first heard The Boston Trio almost 30 years ago at a concert in Jordan Hall in Boston.  I was deeply impressed by their musicianship and wanted to write a work for them.  Over the years I became close friends with both the pianist, Heng-Jin Park, and violinist, Irina Muresanu.  I went to many of their concerts and composed a number of works for them, including one concerto each and a lot of chamber music.  But I always wanted to write a trio specifically for The Boston Trio and to work with them on a recording.  This disc represents a compilation of works and the realization of a dream. It features Irina Muresanu, Heng-Jin Park, Mihai Marica and guest violist Marcus Thompson on the piano quartet.

Tracklist:

ELENA RUEHR (b. 1963)

Piano Trio No. 4
1. I. Ski (5:20)
2. II. Kayak (4:36)
3. III. Bike (4:55)

Piano Trio No. 5 ‘Troubled Times’
4. I. gutty and laborious (6:39)
5. II. spooky then aggressive (2:28)
6. III. playful but anxious (4:21)

Piano Quartet No. 2 ‘Maple’
7. I. Sapling (3:35)
8. II. Prelude, Fughetta, Chorale (4:29)
9. III. The Luthier (3:40)

Piano Trio No. 3 ‘Winter Night’
10. I. Lyric (4:52)
11. II. Grazioso (4:30)
12. III. Aria (3:42)
13. IV. Finale (4:45)

Boston Trio
Irina Muresanu, violin · Mihai Marica, cello · Heng-Jin Park, piano
with *Marcus Thompson, viola

Recording: 4 & 5 October 2025, Fraser Performance Studio, Brighton, Massachusetts
Recording Producer: Elena Ruehr
Editing & Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Antonio Oliart
Design & Editorial: WLP London Ltd

℗ & © 2026 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Elena Ruehr under exclusive licence to Avie Records