Aaron Copland's piano trio Vitebsk (1928) is a powerful, challenging work that dates from the early "austere" period of the composer's development, which saw the creation of sparse, often strident works like the Piano Variations (1930) and the Symphonic Ode (1927 - 29). Unusually for Copland, Vitebsk incorporates quarter tones into its fabric and, further, represents the only instance in which the composer makes direct use of musical materials that reflect his Jewish heritage. Copland's goal was to portray Jewish life in the shtetl (village) amid relentlessly harsh conditions; accordingly, the harmony and texture have a gruff, spiky quality that gives the work its distinctive sound.

The opening section poses quarter-tone passages in the strings against stark, unyielding piano chords in an evocation of the shofar, the ceremonial ram's horn blown in Jewish services, notably during the Days of Awe. Eventually, the cello introduces a folk theme that originated in Vitebsk, the White Russian home town of the playwright Shmuel Ansky. (Copland later noted that he had heard this tune in a New York performance of Ansky's play The Dybbuk.) The violin and piano imitate some of the tune's motives in harsh, uncompromising statements, after which the opening shofar evocation returns. The tempo eventually quickens to a fast, frenetically driven dance featuring virtuosic runs and further motivic development. As the work draws to an end, the tempo reverts to that of the opening as the strings and piano answer one another in passionate melodic declamations. The opening shofar figures return, along with a final statement of the folk song theme.

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