Trio des Alpes

In one of few of their rare UK performances of 2018, the Switzerland-based Trio des Alpes perform works by composers from countries that meet, or are touching distance from the European mountain range. The trio have been hailed in the press for their individual talents and equally impressive ensemble work, which has led to numerous international performances.

Hana Kotkovà (violin)
Claude Hauri (cello)
Corrado Greco (piano)

Haydn Trio in G Hob.XV:25 ‘Gypsy’
Dvořák Trio No.4 in E minor Op.90
Ravel Trio in A minor

“Individually excellent, they are even more impressive together”, wrote the Gazzetta di Mantova after a concert by the Italian-Swiss Trio des Alpes, thereby describing one of this Trio’s essential qualities: three independent, all-round successful personalities meeting as a trio. What attracts them is the quintessence of chamber music: dialogue, a shared sound and the blending of three instruments into a single whole.

The New York Times defined Hana Kotková “sublime solist”; and The Strad wrote about a “seductive and wonderful’ violinist in 2012 at the American premiere of “Violin and Orchestra” of Morton Feldman at Lincoln Center in New York, where she had made its debut at Carnegie Hall in the same year. Numerous are hers awards including winner of major international competition “Prague Spring”. Remarkable is her commitment to chamber music, particularly with the Trio Smetana in Prague in the early years of the new millennium.

Claude Hauri was first cello in numerous formations, starting at an early age as a solo cello in JM Jouth World Orchestra, then in the “Ensemble Algoritmo” of Rome or in the ensemble “Nuovo Contrappunto” of Florence, formations that are primarily devoted to contemporary music; for this kind of music he has become an interpretative reference.

The pianist Corrado Greco is inextricably linked with the Trio des Alpes and enriches it with his musicality in a wonderful way; as an experienced chamber musician he has perfected in collaboration with Bruno Canino, Rodolfo Bonucci, Mario Ancillotti, Giovanni Sollima, Mario Caroli, Massimo Quarta, Lorna Windsor, and with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Their programmes, which usually follow a specific theme, combine major works with discoveries, thus continuously extending the repertoire. The aim is the attention to detail, the adherence to the text and the best possible approximation to the intentions of the composer.

Their success validates this concept: the trio has performed in such renowned international concert series as the Ljubljana Festival, the Alba Music Festival, Nancyphonies and as a guest of numerous well-known Italian concert series. Since 2011 they have been invited to perform in the USA, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland. Particularly noteworthy are the performances of the Triple Concertos by Beethoven, Martinu (with Orchestra da Camera di Mantova) and Daniel Schnyder and the “Women Composers” project which includes pieces especially composed for the Trio des Alpes. In November 2014 they have been “Ensemble in Residence” at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and the St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

The Trio’s CD “XX Century Women Composers” with works by Beach, Boulanger and Clarke has been released in 2015 by Dynamic and received numerous positive reviews. The major magazine Gramophone wrote about it: “Clarke’s 1921 trio is the real revelation … It therefore gets by far the best performance – fluent, committed and wonderfully energetic throughout”.

www.triodesalpes.com

(Photos: Trio des Alpes © Walter Coccarelli)

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