Alejandro Lobo - Trivariate Sonorities (2025) experiments for cello

Alejandro Lobo - Trivariate Sonorities (2025) an exploration of right hand cello | written for Connor Fone

=PERFORMERS=
Connor Fone, cello

Composed by Alejandro Lobo
https://alejandrolobo.weebly.com
https://www.instagram.com/alejandrolo...

=PROGRAM NOTES=
Trivariate Sonorities is an exploration of right-hand technique for solo cello that brings together three of my recent compositional fascinations: the structure of mathematical graphs, processes of gradual transformation, and the tension between controlled and independent variables. Despite this vernacular, Trivariate Sonorities is not a scientific experiment, but a musical inquiry into the fullest expressive potential of an independent variable, in this case, the right hand bow. The piece restricts itself to only two pitches, the low open double stop flat minor seventh of an alternate microtonal tuning of the cello: A (sharp 25 cents) and G. This exploration centers its musical discourse on three spectral parameters of the bow: pressure, string position, and bow impact point. These three dimensions create a three axis cube-like space that allows for exploration of each and every interaction and combination of bowing variables. The repeated pulse and constant pitch content allows these subtle nuances in sonority and timbre to drive the piece, and when combined with tempo and dynamics, small bowing changes create extremely powerful and evocative emotional responses.

=COMPOSER BIO=
Costa Rican–American composer and guitarist Alejandro Lobo (b. 2004) crafts music that immerses listeners in “harmonically rich” and “narratively driven” sonic ecosystems. His work is marked by a nuanced attention to detail that ensures “every note is intentional” (the Review). Viewing composition as a dialogic, communal art form, Lobo treats music as a fluid, permeable language that prioritizes color and emotional grammar above conventional frameworks. His recent projects engage with gradual transformation, environmental/biological phenomena, and the architecture of language and culture.

Lobo has recently collaborated with the Valencia International Contemporary Ensemble, the ISAM Ensemble, the Jacobs Composition Academy, and the University of Delaware Concert Choir and has received numerous accolades, most notably: the Presser Foundation Award, the Eagleson Memorial Award, the Jefferson Prize, and the National Hispanic Recognition Award.

Lobo’s strong ties to his Costa Rican heritage are deeply expressed through his music. This heritage traces back to his great grandfather, Raúl Cabezas Duffner, founder of the country’s National Conservatory and the first Costa Rican to perform at Carnegie Hall. Lobo returns often to compose, perform, and visit his family.

His academic work includes award-winning research on "DuPonts' Musical Legacy: Northern Delaware's Music of 1890-1920" and extensive studies of Latin American guitar culture and technique abroad in Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay.

A Mária Telkes Distinguished Scholar, Lobo is currently Composer-in-Residence with the Wilmington Classical Guitar Society. He studies at the University of Delaware with composers Yoshiaki Onishi, Rachael Smith, and Jennifer Barker.

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Video and Audio Edited by Alejandro Lobo

Performed December 6, 2025 in Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts at the University of Delaware for the UD Composer Showcase II.

#newmusic #composer #cello #contemporarymusic #performanceart