Weilersteins become NEC 'Trivia' experts

It's been an eventful few months for New England Conservatory composer Michael Gandolfi. In October the Boston Symphony Chamber Players premiered his ''Plain Song, Fantastic Dances." Another new piece, ''Trivia," got its first hearing Wednesday, courtesy of the Weilerstein Trio, NEC's trio in residence. (Donald and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, the trio's violinist and pianist, respectively, are NEC faculty; the cellist is their daughter Alisa, 23.)

Despite its title, ''Trivia" is a more substantial and involving work than ''Plain Song," which emphasizes buoyancy and grace. The new work's first two movements were inspired by relativity theory. ''Multiverse" takes the idea that our universe may be just one in a sequence of related universes and turns it into a musical structure. A recurring long melody serves as the jumping-off point for varied musical segments. The second movement, ''Time Traveler," features a collage of musical layers in which each musician plays in a different rhythm. The effect is like the ticking of a clock that's constantly changing the length of a second.

The finale, ''Coursing," ditches the heavy concepts and evokes the thrill of a hunt. Its scurrying lines and shifting rhythms are exchanged at breakneck speed.

As Gandolfi noted from the stage, ''Trivia" sounds easier to play than it actually is. The Weilersteins performed with energy and confidence, making the composer's intricate textures sound luminous.

Works by Dvorak and Schumann filled out the program, and here passion was the hallmark of the Weilersteins' playing. Sometimes that was too much of a good thing. A smoldering Astor Piazzola encore electrified the audience.

In any chamber music concert the focus should be on the ensemble. Yet one couldn't help but be drawn to the gorgeous tone and expressiveness of Alisa Weilerstein's playing, making clear why she's already been so highly praised.