Minerva Piano Trio present an existing combination of youthful works by Sergey Rachmaninov and Dmitry Shostakovich. The concert ends with one of the greatest piano trios ever written, the last one of Franz Schubert.
‘Wonderfully rich, thunderous, and lyrical’ - Classic FM about Minerva Trio
Programme
D. SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975): Piano Trio no. 1, Op. 8
S. RACHMANINOV (1873-1943): Trio Élégiaque in G minor
F. SCHUBERT (1797-1828): Piano Trio in E-flat, D929
Michał Ćwiżewicz, violin
Richard Birchall, cello
Annie Yim, piano
The Minerva Piano Trio have established themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting young trios whose playing has been described as “wonderfully rich, thunderous, and lyrical” (Classic FM). They are known for their innovative approach in programming, from collaborating with dance and combining art forms such as photography to championing leading young composers by commissioning new works. They were chosen as Making Music UK Selected Artists 2018 and St John’s Smith Square Young Artists in residence 2016/17. Having made their debut at the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room in 2014 as Park Lane Group Young Artists, the Trio have broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. Acclaimed for their performances of the richly varied traditional repertoire, the Trio are equally passionate about reviving important but rarely performed works. Through workshops and pre-concert talks, they share their passions for historical research, new music, and creative collaborations. The Trio have worked closely with contemporary composers including Roxanna Panufnik, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gavin Higgins, and David Knotts. They have received coaching from Gordon Back, members of the former Florestan Trio, and Gabor Takacs-Nagy.
Annie Yim is a pianist and founder of MusicArt. Her performance has been described by The Times as "the most beautiful sounds, radiantly coloured, thoughtfully articulated”. Known for her wide-ranging solo and chamber music repertoire that encompasses canonic works and new music, Annie has broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and national radios in Canada and Portugal. Passionate about collaborations and commissioning new works across art forms, Annie founded MusicArt in 2015, an initiative to create original artist-led performance projects. From London to Berlin and Salzburg, her performances with artists and art spaces were featured in New York T Magazine, Artnet, and Gramophone. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, she holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and completed her performance-based research on Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms at the Guildhall School of Music and City, University of London.
Violinist Michał Ćwiżewicz has given concerts across Europe, the Middle-East and USA and his playing has been broadcast on BBC television and Radio and Polish national television. He is a violin professor at the Royal College of Music, directs the Ognisko Ensemble and performs frequently with Minerva Piano Trio, the violin duo Cwizewicz Brothers and as concertmaster of the Górecki Chamber Orchestra. He studied at the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid, and with celebrated musicians Krzysztof Śmietana, Itzhak Rashkovsky and members of the Alban Berg, Arpeggione and Ysaÿe quartets. Before completing his postgraduate studies in music he read aeronautics, receiving his Masters in Engineering from Imperial College in 2007. He was recently presented to Her Majesty the Queen at the Young Artists Reception at Buckingham Palace and performs on a 1731 Niccola Gagliano violin kindly on loan from a private collection.
Richard Birchall read Music at Cambridge University (studying composition with Giles Swayne) and then studied as a postgraduate cellist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, under Louise Hopkins. Richard pursues a varied and colourful career as cellist, composer, arranger, and orchestrator. As no. 3 cello in the Philharmonia Orchestra he performs regularly in the great concert halls of the world; he has also appeared as Guest Principal cello with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and Irish Chamber Orchestra, and as concertmaster of the London Cello Orchestra. Richard’s solo and chamber work has ranged from Wigmore Hall to the catwalk at London Fashion Week. Recent composition projects have included a cello concerto Labyrinth; Perhaps for soprano and orchestra (commissioned by De Montfort University); Hands for string quartet; Abstracts for solo piano; and two story pieces Alice in Wonderland & The Wind in the Willows for eight cellos and narrator, recorded and released by Cellophony Cello Octet with Simon Callow. Richard has served as Deputy Chairman of the Philharmonia and on the Artistic Committee of the Park Lane Group, and currently sits on the Advisory Board of MusicArt.