Written in 1989, this piece was originally composed especially for the composer's colleagues at the University of Toronto, the Amici, whose name inspired the title and the spirit of the work. The mood reflects the highs and lows of any human relationship. The temperament of each instrument has influenced the musical materials, for example: the agile free spirit of the violin, the lyrical lines of the cello and the wide interval leaps of the piano are idiomatic for the instruments. This one movement work is essentially a set of variations based on the initial notes F-Bb-Ab. Friendship, like music, will last only through the test of time.
Version 1 of this work was commissioned by the Amici with a grant from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It had won the prestigious 1991 Barlow International Chamber Music Competition and the 1994 Juno Awards for Best Classical Composition.