The music for each of the three instruments has been statistically derived from the corresponding parts of the following three piano trios:

La Chasse in C (1788) by Muzio Clementi (in one movement)

Trio No. 2 in F (1847) by Robert Schumann (first movement)

Trio in A minor (1914) by Maurice Ravel (first movement)

The pieces begin simultaneously and - being of different lengths - end forty seconds apart in the above order.

The statistical process involves the independent spiralic movement of the three instruments within a triangle symbolising the three composers at its apices; the closer an instrument is to an apex, the more of that composer's work is probabilistically present in the resulting piece. At the start, all three instruments are at the triangle's centre (=33% of each composer's work); the three spiral paths at once set off in different directions, 120 degrees apart. In the course of time, the three instruments wind outwards, bringing out the three composers ever more clearly. At the same time the instruments gradually catch up with each other, joining forces at the Clementi apex, just as that piece is ending. They move on, passing Schumann at the final cadence, with only Ravel left to finish with (see diagramme).

Audio performer, Ives Ensemble