Trio treat for Gtown music lovers
Virtuoso piano trio from Ireland, the Fidelio Trio, will perform works by Beethoven, Ravel and Smetana in the Grahamstown Music Society's next concert at their successful new venue, the NELM auditorium, at 7.30pm on Thursday 31 August.
A piano trio is distinct from a string trio in that it includes... well, a piano... and the Fidelio Trio comprises Darragh Morgan (violin), Adi Tal (cello) and Mary Dullea (piano).
Shortlisted for the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, the Fidelio Trio are enthusiastic champions of the piano trio genre, performing the widest possible range of repertoire on concert stages across the world; they are broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Lyric FM, WNYC, NPR and featured on Sky Arts documentaries; they have an impressive list of commissions and first performances from the leading and newest composers and have a large discography of highly acclaimed recordings.
The programme for their performance on 31 August opens with Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1 – ‘ Ghost', followed by Ravel’s Trio in A minor for piano, violin & cello and Bohemian composer Smetana's Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15.
Since their debut at London’s Southbank Centre, they have appeared at the Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, at festivals from Brighton and Cheltenham to St. Magnus, and from Gregynog to Huddersfield.
They regularly perform across the Irish Sea at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, the Kilkenny Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queens as well as overseas in Shanghai, Porto, Paris, Venice, Florence, Johannesburg, New York City, Princeton, San Francisco and Boston.
Their extensive discography includes Ravel and Saint-Saëns for Resonus Classics; Korngold and Schoenberg ( Verklärte Nacht arr. Steuermann) for Naxos; the complete Michael Nyman Piano Trios for MN Records; multiple releases on NMC, Delphian Records and Convivium including portrait CDs for composers such as Luke Bedford and Michael Zev Gordon.
Keen to ensure the future of the piano trio, The Fidelio Trio work closely with composition and performance students at institutions across the UK and all over the world including the Peabody Conservatory, Curtis Institute, NAFA Singapore, and Stellenbosch Conservatorium South Africa, also they have been artists-in-residence at St. Patrick’s College Dublin City University, University of Illinois at ChampaignUrbana, and the State University of New York, SUNY.
The Fidelio Trio are constantly commissioning new works, giving first performances and, importantly, further performances to introduce them into the repertory. Composers that the Trio have worked closely with include Toshio Hosokawa, Charles Wuorinen, Johannes Maria Staud, Michael Nyman, Gerald Barry, Donnacha Dennehy, Evan Ziporyn, Simon Bain- bridge, Judith Weir … to name but few.
Inspirational musicians The Fidelio Trio have collaborated with include Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Richard Watkins (horn), Joan Rodgers and Patricia Rozario (soprano), and with spoken word, author Alexander McCall Smith and poet Sinéad Morrissey.
Following on from their recent French Piano Trios Series at St John’s Smith Square, London, the 2016-17 season includes an extensive Asia tour (Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong), a further USA tour, many festival appearances and a Schubert cycle at Kilkenny Arts Festival.
Their recent release of Ravel and Saint-Saëns Trios was Gramophone Magazine Critic’s Choice.
They are Artistic Directors of their annual Winter Chamber Music Festival at Belvedere House, Dublin City University and continue to be passionate in their advocacy for the piano trio across the world.
Tickets (available at the door) are R90 (adults), R70 (pensioners), R50 (tertiary students). Admission is free for GMS members and schoolgoers.