The Times wrote, “The top-ranking players of Trio Gaspard cherish Haydn’s every twist and turn”, and it was exactly what we heard in their Haydn pieces. Their artistic and expressive twists and turns made every moment of their performance interesting, while their positivity towards joyful music-making was infectious. Skalkottas’ Variations was full of life with so many strong, vivid colours powerfully sparkling. The performance of Leonid Gorokhov’s short work For Gaspard was a world-premiere – what an honour to be chosen for this occasion.

The recital concluded with my beloved Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No 2. The moment the music started it was as if the trio’s sound was crawling across the ground to almost swallow the audience; which sent shivers through me. Obviously, the trio had this piece at their fingertips - superbly controlled but not clinical, passionately embracing but not suffocating. Another Breinton bucket list item was ticked off this evening!

Trio Gaspard

• Haydn
  • Piano Trio in B flat major, Hob. XV:8
• Skalkottas
  • Eight Variations on a Greek Folk Tune for piano trio
• Haydn
  • Piano Trio in G minor, Hob. XV: 19
• Leonid Gorokhov
  
  • For Gaspard
• Mendelsshon
  • Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66

Jonian Ilias Kadesha has Greek-Albanian roots and lives in Berlin. The young musician not only speaks Greek, Albanian, German and English but also has a keen interest in philosophy and rhetoric.  His playing is characterized by stylistic accuracy in the interpretation of early to contemporary works, and in the exactness of his articulation. With boundless imagination of sound, Kadesha is always in search of something new.  He is a prizewinner of the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, Windsor International and the Leopold Mozart Violin Competitions.

Read more …

German-English pianist Nicholas Rimmer is passionately committed to exploring the piano in all its musical contexts, whether as solo instrument, in a large array of chamber music formations, accompanying voices or as a vehicle for improvisation. His musical training began as a child at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester studying piano, organ and conducting as a teenager, from where he went on to read Music at Clare College, Cambridge. There he held an organ scholarship and worked with conductors including Ivor Bolton, John Eliot Gardiner, René Jacobs and John Rutter. After moving to Germany he developed his studies with a wide range of musicians including Wolfram Rieger, Hatto Beyerle, the Alban Berg Quartet, Ferenc Rados whilst embarking on a successful career as a pianist with a particular focus on chamber music.

Read more …