As one might expect, Charles Wuorinen's Horn Trio Continued is not so much a sequel to his first Horn Trio as an extension of the music in it, according to the serial principles that structure all of Wuorinen's compositions. (It is also an extension of Julie Landsman's earlier commission for the Horn Trio; after all, what better way to fulfill a second commission than to build on the success of the first one?) However, the continued trio can stand on its own quite easily, since every permutation of a melody in the serial system becomes a melody in its own right. This becomes obvious from the opening of the Horn Trio Continued, as the music moves in a less playful, more severe direction with angry chords in the piano and agitated double-stops in the violin slowing the momentum in between essays at melody. Lively rhythms and a fluid, protean approach to development hurtle the listener along; occasional slower patches provide an opportunity for all instruments to reflect. Wuorinen also provides some delightful timbral combinations, as when the violin's frenetic plucking blends nicely into the piano's roiling in the same register, while the horn soars nobly over both. As in the Horn Trio, the conclusion slows everything down, but here stately, massive chords usher the piece to an end; the last notes, however, soften in a way that suggests there is perhaps room for a Horn Trio Continued, continued.

© Andrew Lindemann Malone, All Music Guide