"The Riddle," a two-movement piece written for Strata by Robert Maggio, was intriguing and created a mood that the concluding weighty and opulent set of four Max Bruch’s Eight Pieces, Op. 83, did not disturb. The material for Maggio’s trio is the American folk tune "The Riddle Song," whose melody is fragmented and scattered through a bunch of octaves in the energetic first movement and whose harmonic implications are explored quietly and intensely in the second. It is a nicely put-together piece and a fine contribution to the chamber repertoire.

Its two movements are thematically based on the familiar American folk song, "I gave my love a cherry." The playful first movement seemed almost like a game of musical tag as the players joyfully tossed recognizable snippets of the base melody back and forth. It was hard to find evidence of the original tune in the somber and reflective second movement. That didn’t diminish the impact of this interesting and delightful piece in the slightest.