Trio for Strings

[3] The piece is indebted to Arnold Schoenberg's 12-tone technique and the late works of Anton Webern,[2] but was also influenced by Young's fascination with the long tones of Japanese gagaku and Indian raga.

[3] In 2005, Young premiered a new "Just Intonation Version" of the Trio for a sextet, performed by the Theatre of Eternal Music String Ensemble under the direction of Curtis.

[6] David Paul of Seconds stated that the piece, "with its silences and long tones, paved the way for music based on tonality, drone and infinite time spans, brushing aside elaborate formal development in favor of the contemplation of pure sound.

[8][9] Composer Terry Riley credited the piece with paving the way for his influential 1964 composition In C, stating that "What La Monte introduced was this concept of not having to press ahead to create interest.

"[3] On January 29, 2022, Dia Art Foundation published a Zoom internet discussion between La Monte Young, Jung Hee Choi and Andy Battaglia, editor at ARTnews magazine, about Trio for Strings on YouTube.