July 2018 brought recording sessions for TrioConBrio’s latest CD Musik aus der Mühle [Music from the Mill].
Released in November 2018 the album comprises a stimulating mix of TrioConBrio’s current performing repertoire and three world-premiere recordings. The familiar works are: Bach’s Sonata BWV 525; Francesco Molino’s Trio op 30; two entractes from Bizet’s Carmen; Debussy’s enchanting Rêverie, and one of the trio’s favourite numbers, the passionate Verano Porteño by Astor Piazzolla. The new discoveries are: Aubade, specially composed for TrioConBrio by Chris Dumigan to complement his Pastorale & Dance, and Ray Sandoval’s Hecho en Califas. Klaus Wüsthoff’s Concierto de Samba has already enjoyed considerable success, but this is the first recording of the version for flute, viola and guitar.
The spanish guitarist José Maria Gallardo del Rey from Sevilla, an acknowledged Master of both the Classical and the Flamenco style, is presently composing a piece for TrioConBrio. This Hommage to Isaac Albéniz will be premiered in the Spring of 2018.
The anniversary concert for the 25th jubilee of the trio featured 5 premieres of internationally acclaimed guitar composers at the Theaterhaus in Stuttgart: worry dance by Gerd Baumann (München) Eterna & Mangabeira vby Sérgio Assad (Brasilien/USA) Hecho en Califas by Ray Sandoval (Tucson/Berlin) Aubade by Chris Dumigan (England) Tres Endechas by Alfonso Montes (Stuttgart/Venezuela)
This remarkable event will remain unforgettable for all those present, including the composers.
In June of 2017, the annual Festival of the Guitar Foundation of America took place in Los Angeles on the campus of the University of Fullerton. The Festival ranks among the top guitar events worldwide. TrioConBrio was invited to perform the most recent works, many of which had their American premieres. „Groundbreaking“ was the general feedback for the Trio’s performance.This concert trip was generously sponsored by the string producer Savarez. Many thanks to Bernard and Cyril Maillot!
The successfull performances of „Pastorale & Dance“ by Chris Dumigan, England, inspired the composer to an addition to the work, an opening movement entitled „Aubade“, which will be published by the German music publishing house Trekel.
The long-established Viennese Music publisher Doblinger publishes Mozarts Magic Flute in an edition of Andrea Förderreuther in the series Diletto Musicale, Doblingers Reihe Alter Musik.
The specialized press (Maximilian Trapp, Gitarre & Laute ONLINE, May 16, 2017) reacts very complimentary, praising the great care and profound understanding of the editor while also mentioning the practicability of the edition.
Over the summer the trio is preparing in private for the coming season, in particular for our big 25th anniversary concert at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart. Gifts are customary for major anniversaries – and in this case they take the form of new pieces!
The celebrated German film composer Gerd Baumann is currently writing a piece for TrioConBrio.
After the success of Winter Impressions world-famous Sergio Assad is writing two new pieces for TrioConBrio: Mangabeira and Eterna will frame the trio’s favourite piece, the enchanting Menino.
Ray Sandoval contributes the groovy Hecho en Califas, a captivating mix of jazz and world music.
Europäische Erstaufführungen:
In 2015 TrioConBrio will take several new works by American composers into its repertoire, including the Terzetto for Flute, Guitar and Viola by Stanley Weiner. In addition, the American film composer Paul Chihara has arranged his piece The Girl from Yerevan for TrioConBrio – the working title is The Girl from Stuttgart. Ronald Pearl’s Three ways to the North, with its meditative New Age soundworld and virtuosic folk elements, has already proved a success with audiences.
TrioConBrio’s reworking of Klaus Wüsthoff‘s Concierto de Samba has brought praise from the 92-year-old composer, who lives in Berlin: “The use of viola rather than violin clearly gives rise to an essentially fuller sound,” he said, “and I am very grateful to TrioConBrio for this alternative instrumentation. The tempi are spot on and I am thrilled with the temperament and Latin-American feeling in their music-making.”
March 2015 brought the successful world premiere of Threnodies by the Dutch composer and conductor Marijn Simons. The event was hosted by Heidenheim’s Society for New Music.
For the past 20 years, churches in Baden-Württemberg have been transforming themselves into charitable community centres for a period in the winter. From 18th January to 7th March the Leonhardskirche in central Stuttgart was again transformed into a charitable ‘Vesperkirche’, and TrioConBrio supported the initiative with a fundraising concert on 1st February 2014.
Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Finance and Economy, which is headed by Dr Nils Schmid, has given an award for innovation to TrioConBrio for its creative work.
Kirchentag 2015
A highlight of the 2015 season was the enthusiastically received concert at the ‘Evangelischer Kirchentag’ in Stuttgart. Its title – Virtuosic Sounds of the South – attracted a large audience to an evening of passionate and compelling music-making.
In Autumn 2014 a new member joined TrioConBrio – the outstanding viola player Lydia Bach
Over the 2012-13 season TrioConBrio appeared at a number of guitar festivals, including the Festival Gitarrenland Rheinland-Pfalz, the Zevener Gitarrenwoche (TrioConBrio was named the highlight of the week) and the festival in honour of Leo Brouwer at the Künstlerhaus Boswil in Switzerland. In Munich, TrioConBrio made its first appearance at the hip new venue Einstein, while its benefit concert at the Stuttgarter Vesperkirche received TV coverage on SWR-Landesschau.
TrioConBrio Fiesta Latina
This chamber music ensemble has existed since 1990 with guitarist Andrea Förderreuther as its lynchpin, and since 2008 she has been performing with the viola player Andreea Alcalde Polo und the flautist Christina Singer, but this relatively long-established line-up had not recorded a CD. Happily, all good things come to those who wait, and this fine, superbly produced fiesta of Latin American and Spanish music is now available. Things get off to a passionate start with the suite Buenos Aires color pastel and from the very first bars one can believe that the trio’s members did indeed “fall in love with the piece straight away”. The playing is absolutely first class, capturing both the typical melancholy of the tango and its elevated and majestic rhythms, while the skilful production ensures that this virtuoso ensemble occasionally sounds like an entire chamber orchestra – not only in Pujol’s piece, but also, for instance, in the arrangement of Albéniz’s popular Asturias and Piazzolla’s Verano Porteno. That TrioConBrio is held in high estimation by the musical world is evident from the fact that a number of works have been dedicated to the ensemble, such as Sergio Assad’s wonderfully moving Menino or David Babcock’s Tangible Tangos, a four-movement work that almost enters crossover territory. What else is there to say? Nothing, except that this is a great album.
Akustik Gitarre 5/13, Harald Wittig