Omri Epstein, piano Mathieu van Bellen, violin Ori Epstein, cello
Sunday, May 5, 2019
3:00 pm /
Logan House
(adjacent to the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts)
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. (in Upper Ojai)
Ojai, CA 93023 Detailed map and directions
Program
Piano Trio in G Major, KV 564 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Slow Pavane; Fast Stomp; & Short Procession - Mark-Anthony Turnage
Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8 - Johannes Brahms
Omri Epstein, piano Mathieu van Bellen, violin Ori Epstein, cello
THE WASHINGTON POST: "In a Sunday afternoon recital presented by the Phillips Collection and the Belgian Embassy at the International Student House of Washington, D.C., this young piano trio demonstrated both technical chops and remarkable musical maturity...the virtuosic achievement was thrilling, and the audience’s enthusiastic response elicited a Dvorak encore, the second movement of the “Dumky” trio.."
THE TIMES (U.K.): "The Busch Ensemble is a piano trio bursting with far more than promise. [...] All players are within their twenties [...] but the group already plays as though musically joined at the hip - something to be expected with Epstein and his older brother Omri, the group's marvelously sensitive pianist. Even during the modest curtain raiser, Schubert’s Sonatensatz of 1812, I quickly lost count of his nimble and subtle variations in touch, though the range only grew wider with the extra firepower summoned for Tchaikovsky’s epic Piano Trio or Beethoven’s D major trio, the ‘Ghost’. [...] Beyond the players’ individual gifts, what impressed most was the group’s effortless musicianship and unity of thought and attack. The threesome even seemed to be breathing in sync."
Named after the legendary violinist Adolf Busch, this young piano trio has emerged as one of the leading piano trios among the new generation, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across Europe. Omri Epstein “the group’s marvelously sensitive pianist”, Mathieu van Bellen, whose “silvery gleam darted eloquently”, and Ori Epstein, with whom “you felt in the grip of a warm hug”, have all won prizes in solo international competitions. Brought together by a shared deep passion for chamber music and inspired by Mathieu’s possession of the “ex-Adolf Busch” G.B. Guadagnini violin (Turin, 1783), they have been recognized for their achievements and their playing with “incredible verve”.
Since its formation in London in 2012 the trio has developed an extensive performing schedule across Europe’s leading concert halls and festivals. Their recent Wigmore Hall appearance was received to critical acclaim, The Times commenting: “…what impressed most was the group’s effortless musicianship and unity of thought and attack. The threesome even seemed to be breathing in sync.” Recent seasons included a tour of China, collaborations with Michael Collins, Bruno Giuranna and recitals in London’s Purcell Room, King’s Place, Brussels’s Bozar and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Their recent performance in Brussels of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra and Karina Canellakis was broadcast live on Belgium’s Musiq3, and they frequently perform on BBC Radio3, Dutch Radio4, Radio France and Germany’s Deutschlandfunk, NDR and WDR.
In 2016, the trio released their debut CD of Dvorak’s trios to critical acclaim, receiving a 5-stars review in the Diapason magazine and remarked upon by the Gramophone as: “…the youthful Busch Trio can boast one of the most notable features of their namesake: a pooled decision to put the music, and only the music, first.” The CD is part of a 4-CD project of the complete chamber music for piano and strings by Dvorak, after French record label Alpha Classics engaged the trio in 2015. Part of the success of their debut CD saw it being selected as CD of the week by several radio stations across Europe and helped win the trio the 2016 Kersjesprijs, the Netherlands’ premier chamber music award. The second CD, featuring Dvorak’s piano quartets with violist Miguel da Silva, was hailed by the Sunday Times as “an outstanding disc”.
Winners of the 2012 Royal Overseas League Competition, the trio went on to win several prizes at international competitions including the Salieri-Zinetti Competition and the Pinerolo Competition in Italy as well as at the International Schumann Chamber Music Award in Frankfurt. Receiving guidance from distinguished artists such as Eberhard Feltz, Andras Schiff and the Artemis Quartet, the trio are currently based at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, where they are trio in residence.
Highlights of 2018 include the release of their third CD featuring Dvorak’s piano quintets with violist Miguel da Silva and violinist Maria Milstein, a return to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and debut performance at the Phillips Collection in Washington.
