Piano Trio No. 2 “This Mirror Has Three Faces” is a chamber work for violin, violoncello and piano. Written in 2011, it is structured in five movements corresponding to the panels of a triptych: left exterior, left interior, right interior, center and right exterior.

The work was co-commissioned by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and the Weiss/Kaplan/Newman Piano Trio. It was premiered on 9 March 2012 at the Leo Rich Theatre in Tucson by Martin Beaver, Clive Greensmith and Lera Auerbach.

“I like the idea of exploring the dramatic, ritualistic side of music. In The Mirror With Three Faces, one can look at three different faces or roles of the same person or at three distinct personalities – each with its own face. Each character (i.e. instrument) may be isolated, in conflict, or in harmony with others and itself. This trio explores individuality and ensemble, harmony and conflict, one in three or three in one – that is the ambiguous nature of this work, structured in the form of a triptych.”

Lera Auerbach

Form. Triptych in five movements.

Duration. Approximately 23 minutes.

Forces. Violin, violoncello and piano.

The subtitle This Mirror Has Three Faces frames the trio as both chamber music and visual structure. The five movements are named as panels, placing the listener before a work that opens, unfolds, centers and folds back into itself.

The traditional piano-trio formation becomes the vehicle for the work’s central ambiguity: three independent voices, three reflected identities, or one image divided into three faces.