Shtick, Beauty and Musicality From Triology

Triology, as the name suggests, is a group all about twisted language--musical and otherwise, which the European chamber group demonstrated Thursday night at the Skirball Center in its U.S. debut. It’s made up of three dazzling young musicians, violinists Aleksey Igudesman and Daisy Jopling and cellist Tristan Schulze, all shy of 30 and all noticeably accomplished players who are unafraid of mixing beauty with shtick.

And so we heard a ravishing take on Ennio Morricone’s main theme to “Once Upon a Time in America,” as well as the wink-wink pratfall of Igudesman’s “I Shot the Viola Player, but I Didn’t Shoot the Cellist,” which went out of its way to entertain the troops.

It turns out that film composer icon Morricone, with his keen blend of romanticism and experimentalism, is a fitting point-of-focus for the group, which recently released its debut CD (RCA Victor) of Morricone arrangements. The group also takes kindly to rearranging music by such dynamic, passionate sources as flamenco firebrand Paco de Lucia and nuevo tango legend Astor Piazzolla.

Triology should take its rightful place in the emerging ranks of new chamber music makers, who freely draw on influences from assorted folk traditions, world music--especially Africa--and pop, while carefully avoiding the rudiments of classical standards. In fact, a bit of traditional repertoire would have been nice, as a counterbalance to the programming oddities.

The group may not have quite found its ideal balance yet. Its definition of improvisation, for instance, is grounded in rock riffing, with little understanding of jazz or free playing outside of tonal or rhythmic grounding. But, overall, Triology is a real contender, worth tracking as it evolves.

It’s exciting, as well as reassuring, to witness young, gifted musicians in the happy throes of genre-splicing, witty, creative fervor.