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The exceptional international ensemble playing classical masterpieces at JW3
The trio playing next week will take the audience on a fascinating musical journey
Greek-Albanian violinist Jonian Kadesha joins Israeli pianist Noam Greenberg and British cellist Vashti Hunter at JW3 next week with a programme designed to showcase every possible combination of their instruments, from intimate duets to the full piano trio.
Bookended by two piano trios by Haydn, the concert takes the audience on a musical journey through several centuries, with works by Beethoven, Schumann, Martinů and Debussy offering contrasting styles, textures and moods.
Among the highlights is Martinů’s Duo No. 2 for violin and cello, a fascinating and energetic work which explores the possibilities of the two string instruments playing together without a piano. At the other end of the spectrum is Debussy’s exquisite Sonata for Violin and Piano, one of the most celebrated examples of French chamber music, while Beethoven’s early variations on the aria Bei Männern from Mozart’s The Magic Flute bring charm and ingenuity.
The programme also includes Schumann’s Phantasiestücke, a collection of pieces which, once something of a rarity in concert programmes, is increasingly finding a place in the chamber music repertoire.
Kadesha has established an international reputation as one of the most individual and imaginative violinists of his generation. A musician of wide-ranging intellectual interests, his studies in philosophy and rhetoric inform his approach to interpretation, bringing particular attention to stylistic detail and musical expression. His solo career has taken him to leading concert halls, including Wigmore Hall, the Louvre and Berlin Philharmonie. He has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir András Schiff and collaborated with some of the biggest names in classical music, among them Martha Argerich, Steven Isserlis and Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Kadesha is a co-founder of the award-winning Trio Gaspard and also plays with the Kelemen Quartet. He is increasingly in demand as a play-director with leading chamber orchestras, including the Netherlands, Irish and Scottish Chamber Orchestras.
Berlin-based cellist Vashti Hunter was born in Kilburn into a musical family. He made history as the first British cellist to win a prize at the Prague Spring International Cello Competition in its 65-year history. A regular performer at major festivals and concert halls across Europe and beyond, Hunter has appeared at Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie and the Rudolfinum in Prague. Her chamber music collaborators have included Martha Argerich, Steven Isserlis, Ivry Gitlis and Vilde Frang. In 2010, she co-founded Trio Gaspard with Kadesha and pianist Nicholas Rimmer. The ensemble has since won first prizes at the international Haydn and Joachim competitions and is undertaking an ambitious recording project of all 46 Haydn piano trios for the British label Chandos.
Completing the trio is London-based Israeli pianist Noam Greenberg, whose musical education took him from the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv to Yale University before he moved to London to study with the celebrated pianist Maria Curcio. A pivotal moment came in 2001 when he attended masterclasses at the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove, working with Ferenc Rados and András Schiff. Further studies with Rados in Budapest helped shape his musical development and his enduring passion for chamber music.
Greenberg has since performed at major venues including the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. An enthusiastic champion of contemporary music, he has also given numerous Israeli premieres, including Ligeti’s Piano Concerto. He is the founder and artistic director of the Music at Tresanton festival.
Jonian Kadesha, Vashti Hunter and Noam Greenburg are at JW3 on 17 November at 7.30pm. jw3.org
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