Extraordinary trio mark end to successful classical year
Outstanding, astonishing and unique, are just three of the adjectives which have been used to describe a concert by the Fournier Piano Trio.
“When you can blow off a 400 seat concert hall with just three people playing, you know something extraordinary has happened,” said one enthusiastic reviewer.
And a mini tour of the region by this distinguished and exciting trio, will mark the grand finale to the highly successful 2014/15 Absolute Classics series.
Since winning the 2013 Parkhouse Award, the London-based trio has been rapidly emerging as one of the world’s leading young piano trios.
The young group of classical musicians are Taiwanese-British pianist Chiao-Ying Chang; Korean violinist Sulki Yu; and Australian cellist Pei-Jee Ng. All are leading musicians of their generation and have given recitals at some of the world’s most prestigious classical venues, including the Purcell Room and the Wigmore, Carnegie and Royal Festival halls.
As a trio, these three remarkable musicians have made critically acclaimed debuts at both the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall in London and in 2011 embarked on its first European Tour after being selected for New Masters on Tour at the International Holland Music Sessions which culminated in their debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
They have appeared at music festivals across the world, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia and have made regular visits to the Trondheim International Music Festival. Plans are afoot to record their debut album later this year for USK Recordings.
The Fournier Piano Trio begin their four-day concert series at Kirkcudbright Parish Church on Thursday, March 26, at 7.30pm. On Friday, March 27, the performance will take place at Annan Academy Performing Arts Centre, at 7.30pm.
The venue is Greyfriars Church Dumfries on Saturday, March 28, again at 7.30pm, and Sunday, March 29, sees the final date in the Absolute Classics 2014/15 series when the trio will play out the last performance at the Buccleuch and Queensberry Arms, Thornhill, at 3.30pm.
Programmes include pieces by Haydn, Faure, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Schubert and Dvorak.
Tickets in advance from www.absoluteclassics.co.uk or on the doors.
Absolute Classics returns in August with its popular summer festival and will once again feature the International Music Platform, bringing some of the world’s most highly-acclaimed musicians to Dumfries and Galloway.
Director, Alex McQuiston, said: “It’s been an amazing year for classical music in the region. We have hosted some truly astounding performances, many to packed audiences and the feedback has been inspiring as well as very encouraging.
“The success of the programme is evidence that the people of Dumfries and Galloway are fully supportive of what we are trying to achieve: to bring the best calibre classical musicians from across the world to this predominately rural region.