Programme Note Piano Trio #1, Op. 52 took just over two years to complete, due to a rather protracted "dry spell" in my compositional career. The first movement was written after the second movement and was completed rather quickly (June 24 to August 5, 1997). It is in the form of a Passacaglia, inspired by and reminiscent of the great C Minor Organ Passacaglia of J. S. Bach. The second movement was written first. It was begun on June 26, 1995 and completed on June 26, 1997. It is a Moto Perpetuo written in Rondo form, with four episodes and a coda. Each time the Rondo passage recurs, it incorporates fragments of the previous episode. The Rondo passage is a joyous and intense river of cascading arpeggios which exploits the entire range of the piano and the strings. The first episode continues the arpeggio motif; the second displays canon-like entries of a motif first heard in the violin; the third is quieter and quotes the passacaglia theme from the first movement; the fourth presents a rapid rush of notes in octaves in the three instruments. The coda recalls the arpeggio motif from the Rondo passages but adds swift tonality changes and greater dissonance as it rushes towards its climax. Piano Trio #1is subtitled "Swann" in honour of Francesca Swann, CBC producer in St. John's, Newfoundland, who commissioned the work and who has always been most supportive of my music. The work is dedicated to Alison Black, Theo Weber and Kristina Szutor who premiered the work in St. John's on February 28, 1998.