Commissioned by the Park Lane Group with funding provided by the RVW Trust, ‘Into the Abyss, I Throw Roses’ was first performed by the Eblana String Trio as part of the Southbank Soundstate Sessions, Purcell Room, London in 2019. Since then, the piece received its US Premiere by the Front Row Chamber Players in Colorado in 2019, its Canadian Premiere by the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa in 2020, and its German Premiere by Trio d'Iroise as part of KonzertGut Lucklum in 2023.
‘Into The Abyss, I Throw Roses (2018) for string trio is inspired by words from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Posthumous Fragments dating November 1882 to February 1883. ‘You have overcome yourself: but why do you show yourself to me only as the one overcome? I want to see the victor: throw roses into the abyss and say, "Here is my thanks to the monster who didn’t succeed in swallowing me.”’ The piece depicts the imagery within the text by contrasting reflective, sombre moments with more heavy, rhythmic passages as well as delicate descending figures simulating falling roses.’
©G.E.M.2018
The Black Oak Ensemble continues to push the boundaries of the string trio repertoire with Dance of the Night Sky, their third album on Cedille Records, to be released on May 4th 2025. Dance of the Night Sky features eight contemporary trios including world-premiere recordings of works by Shirley J. Thompson, Carol J. Jones, Grace-Evangeline Mason, and Errollyn Wallen, and works by Judith Weir, Dobrinka Tabakova, Freya Waley-Cohen, and Sally Beamish.
Praised by the Chicago Tribune for its “flamboyant vitality” and “expert performances,” the Black Oak Ensemble is establishing itself as a one of the premier chamber ensembles in the United States. At its core is a string trio comprising violinist Desirée Ruhstrat and cellist David Cunliffe (members of the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio) and violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli.
Photo: Black Oak Ensemble by Ayaka Sano
