The World Première of Sonata for Piano Trio took place on Friday 30th May 1997 at London's Purcell Room. The première was given by the excellent Dussek Piano Trio and was included in a programme with piano trios by Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

Since its formation in 1988 the Dussek Piano Trio has thrilled audiences around the country, consistently winning plaudits from critics and invitations to return from concert promoters. The trio has performed regularly in the Wigmore Hall and on the South Bank. Its broadcasts have included performances from St. George's Brandon Hill, Bristol and in the BBC's prestigious St. John's Smith Square series. Festival appearances have included Cheltenham, Great Elm, King's Lynn and Newbury. The Dussek Piano Trio has a commitment to contemporary music, performing Michael Berkeley's Piano Trio at the 1998 Cheltenham Festival at the invitation of the composer. Première performances have included Michael Stimpson's Sonata for Piano Trio at the South Bank and the first broadcast performance of Raymond Warren's Piano Trio. The Dussek Piano Trio has recorded the complete trios by Brahms and Frank Bridge and a selection of Haydn's late trios. Its recordings of Arensky's two trios were released in the late 1990's.

Programme Notes:
Sonata for Piano Trio is a three-movement work that was completed in March 1996. The exposition of the first movement is built up from three subjects, each focusing on one instrument. The first forms the basis for the development and remainder of the movement. The second, in its inverted and distorted form, provides the foundation of the second movement, the original finally appearing as a coda with muted violin. The third subject forms the basis of the closing movement which is a Rondo. The three entries are a final contribution of the 'triple structure' that underlies the whole work, before a recapitulation of the first episode brings the piece to an end. The work was begun in June 1995 and coincided with the death of my mother. I therefore expected it to take on a tragic character but with the exception of the introduction to the second movement and hints of a funeral march, the work generally reflects an imagined youth and dance-like energy that gives a somewhat celebratory character.
Michael Stimpson

The review in the August edition of The Strad said of the new work:

'....it was the Stimpson which proved to be the most rewarding. In three movements - a Vivo, Lento and Rondo:Andante - it is a finely poised, lyrical work. The richly melancholic Lento was paced to perfection and the final movement lost none of its drive and drama: in short, a joy to hear.'