MARCH 2014 CONCERT

TRIO CON BRIO

COPENHAGEN

Soo-Kyung Hong, cello

Soo-Jin Hong, violin

Jens Elvekjaer, piano

Haydn - Piano Trio in C major, Hob. XV:27

Mendelssohn - Piano Trio in C minor, op.66

Interval

Smetana - Piano Trio in G minor, op.15

There are times when two plus two can equal three. Trio con Brio Copenhagen is one such instance, where family ties, cultural blending, and musical connections all converge to color, shape and energize the concerts they present worldwide. Korean sisters Soo-Jin and Soo-Kyung Hong and Danish pianist Jens Elvekjaer created the Trio in Vienna in 1999 with the concept of pairs coming together. The sisters had played together since childhood, and Jens Elvekjaer and Soo-Kyung Hong (who are now married) had played piano and cello duos together for years. According to Mr. Elvekjaer, “We have always felt that this ‘two and two equals three’ dynamic provides a uniqueness and intensity to all of our performances.

“The strong personal bonds among the three of us greatly affect the way we conceive music together. We can be one hundred percent honest with each other in rehearsal and performance, and our different cultural backgrounds have provided an unusual perspective that shapes all that we do. It is a process of thinking without boundaries, cultural or otherwise, while staying within the great traditions that the music needs.”

Trio con Brio Copenhagen's busy schedule includes major concert halls in the U.S., Europe and Asia, such as Tivoli Concert Hall (Copenhagen), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Carnegie Hall (New York City), Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall (Mostly Mozart Festival, twice in 2009), the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Mozart-Saal (Vienna), Herkulessaal (Munich), Beethoven-Haus (Bonn), the Musikhalle (Hamburg), the Mozarteum (Salzburg), the Seoul and Sejong Arts Centers (Korea), Bunka Kaikan (Tokyo), Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza, Italy), the Båstad Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), and the Bergen and Trondheim Chamber Music Festivals (Norway).

All three musicians are interesting, vital people whose personalities play off one another offstage as they do onstage. Good food and wines figure prominently in all three musicians’ lives, as do the joys of traveling – a very good thing since it is compulsory in their careers as busy musicians.

The Trio’s sound benefits from the superb instruments all three play: Soo-Jin plays a violin built by Andrea Guarneri from the 17th century, Soo-Kyung plays a Testore cello from 1731, and Jens is the first Steinway Artist from Denmark.

Tickets will be available for
TRIO CON BRIO COPENHAGEN
from www.WeGotTickets.com