String Trio no. 1, 1946.

Composed in the same year as the Serenade for two flutes and string orchestra, the First String Trio appears to be a further step that marks a departure from the carefree aesthetics of neo-classicism in favour of deeper expression and greater complexity of texture. Proceeding along the stylistic lines of such works as the Second Symphony or the Third Quartet Palester uses in his Trio a different version of the sonata cycle, with a slow finale. The first movement, Allegro assai moderato, is preceded by a romantic, slow introduction, Lento tranquillamente. The second movement, Allegretto commodo, is a moderately rapid scherzo. The finale, Lento, molto espressivo, strikes the listener with an unusual ending, in which the violin’s melody swells against the background of chords played pizzicatowith glissandi by the viola and the cello.

The premiere of the First String Trio took place in Cracow on 24 November 1947. It was performed by Stanisław Tauros, Tadeusz Gonet and Zofia Adamska.