One of the most exciting composers of his generation, Jonathan Cole was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize in 1999.

“Trapdoor” was written as a tribute to the great film director Alfred Hitchcock in the year of hiscentenary, 1999. The piece has four sections: Fanfares, Trap, Nervous Shadows and Trapdoor. The last being after the music falls through a trapdoor and into a totally different world. It is a skittish piece and works with a backdrop provided by theresonance of silent chords held with the sostenuto pedal.