This work is a trio scored for piano, viola, and clarinet, consisting of five brief segments—each is under a minute—concluded by a six-minute movement entitled "Abschied" (Meister Raro entdeckt Guillaume de Machaut ("Farewell" [Master Raro discovers Guillaume de Machaut]). The piece as a whole is homage to Robert Schumann, and Master Raro was a calm, educated, and wise persona that existed among a small pantheon of characters that Schumann brought to life as a music journalist. The briefer movements also feature titles that allude to fictional literary figures in Schumann's circle, including Johannes Kreisler from the writings of E.T.A Hoffmann. This work existed in draft form in the 1970s, and has an atmosphere of poignant history, including references to different works by Schumann, Kurtág, and Machaut, directly or indirectly, so that essences of music from the late twentieth century, the mid-nineteenth century, and the middle ages cohere elegantly. The final movement is a poignant funeral arrangement, capturing an enigmatic atmosphere of a reliable and intelligent persona offering a proper farewell for a great, ancient composer who was not well-known during Raro's (Schumann's) time. Preceding the finale, each episode is a distinct, fully fleshed-out environment of stylistic blends that are not the result of synthesis. Rather, the movements demonstrate retellings from the perspective of Kurtág's unique language. It is a sort of musical storytelling in operation, on felt themes of death and appreciation. How would a twentieth-century Hungarian composer write from the perspective of a nineteenth-century German character about an ancient Burgundian polyphonist? Techniques of previous styles are implied, never used, and the poetry of Kurtág makes it all transparent. The ideas are immersed into one another, creating a dialogue along timelines that ennobles all concerned without resorting to pastiche or cloying nostalgia. Readers with a passion for music cannot pass up the opportunity to give Hommage à R. Sch., Op. 15d, a listen.

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