In recent years, I have been writing a series of works for wind instruments, and this piece is also part of that lineage. However, unlike my previous ensemble works for homogeneous instruments (e.g., Blow! for Saxophone Quartet (2011), Secret Couple II for 2 Clarinets (2011), Ricercare I for Trombone Quartet (2012)), this time I attempted a combination of heterogeneous instruments: horn, violin, and piano. This instrumentation is borrowed from two of my favorite composers, Brahms and Ligeti, who both have works with this same configuration. However, while Brahms and Ligeti's works demand a dense music with tight ensemble, this piece is permeated by the improvisational and decadent atmosphere of the three performers. The utterances of the three performers rarely intertwine; each remains isolated. The work as a whole consists of four movements performed continuously, gradually decelerating after reaching a peak in the second movement. Here, Ricercare is used in the sense of "to explore."

The premiere took place on June 26, 2012, at the concert Presentation Part 39: Contemporary Works held at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall. (From the composer)