Embarking on a journey from the UK, the world-renowned Sitkovetsky Trio makes their Emerald City Music debut performance on our stage. This colorful evening of music explores one of the most storied and complicated love triangles of the classical music world: the relationship of Robert and Clara Schumann and their beloved friend, Johannes Brahms. Known through correspondence, this soap-opera-worthy tale explores degrees of musical respect, infatuation, care, and romantic propriety in the 19th century. Robert Schumann’s Phantasiestüke, Op. 88, was written shortly after his marriage to Clara, a brilliant pianist and composer. While her concert touring career was skyrocketing, he melancholically returned home to regain his confidence, penning an incredible six chamber music works, of which this was the last. Brahms’s Piano Trio No. 1 was the first chamber music work published by the twenty-one-year-old rising star. He meticulously labored over this work, throwing most drafts in the fire. At the end of his life, with countless masterworks to his name, he still returned to this trio perplexed and republished a revised work, making this piece unique in that it bears the handwriting and genius of both a young and old Brahms.
The Sitkovetsky Trio has established itself as an exceptional piano trio of today, with sensational performances in the foremost concert halls around the world. Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin) and Wu Qian (piano) were joined recently by German-Korean cellist Isang Enders to continue their journey of successful appearances. Their thoughtful and committed approach have brought the ensemble critical acclaim and invitations to renowned concert halls around the world.
First prize-winners of the International Commerzbank Chamber Music Award, the trio is also a recipient of the NORDMETALL Chamber Music Award at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Philharmonia-Martin Chamber Music Award. They have been supported by the Hattori Foundation, the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Fidelio Trust and the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation.
They released their first recording for BIS Records in 2014 including works by Smetana, Suk and Dvořák to much critical acclaim. This led to further releases of works by Brahms and Schubert on the Wigmore Live Label and another recording for BIS of Mendelssohn Trios in 2015. Recently, they have recorded their third and fourth discs for BIS; Beethoven’s Trios Op.1 and Op.70, and Allegretto in B-flat major for Piano Trio WoO 39 as part of their complete Beethoven cycle, and Ravel Trio and Saint-Saens Trio no 2.
