After First Prizes at the international competitions in Osaka, Melbourne and the German Music Competition, an extensive concert career has developed for the Trio Jean Paul. Founded in 1991, their polished music-making exhibits immaculate craftsmanship and subtly layered nuances. We welcome their Vancouver debut.

 The Emersons have been playing for us since 1979 and we take great pride in being one of their early sponsors and in having presented them throughout their outstanding career. They have retained their vitality and freshness and every performance is a model of musical communication. They have received three Gramophone Magazine Awards and a remarkable eight Grammy Awards.

 This highly accomplished ensemble comprising three Schmidt siblings and violist Roland Glassl, has already appeared in our series three times. Their playing is remembered for its penetrating sense of architecture, artistic insight and clarity of tone. They have eloquently expressed their principles –“Making music freely and independently – that is what makes quartet playing such a dream of a profession.”

 Acclaimed for presenting classical music with a modern appeal, the trio has won numerous prizes at international competitions. The group’s recordings have won many awards, including the British magazine Classic CD’s “Top of the Class” award in 1999 and the London Times’ “Classical Album of the Year” in 2000. Their recording of Dvorák was chosen as the 1996 “Record of the Year” by BBC3 Radio.

They have been hailed by The Washington Postas one of the “world’s leading ensembles of piano, violin, and cello.”

 Menahem Pressler is well known as the indefatigable leader of the Beaux Arts Trio for more than 50 years. He is now continuing his illustrious career by having three outstanding musicians join him in a program of the piano quartet literature. His colleagues are Alexander Kerr, violin; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Eric Kim, cello.

* Please note the different day, time and venue for this concert.

After 25 years of friendship and music-making, violinist Ani Kavafian, pianist Andre-Michel Schub and clarinetist David Shifrin – each a true virtuoso and a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center –come together as a trio with undeniable chemistry, performing with nearly every major orchestra around the world and in recital at the major concert halls.

To quote them :

 We welcome back this dynamic ensemble that electrified us with their concert in 2008. Formed in 1995 by two musicians from Poland and two from Ukraine, they have become known for their superb technical control, innate musicality, and an extraordinary sense of ensemble.

“Everyone listened reverently, with an almost religious respect …Not one person stirred” recalled the cellist who played the première of French composer Olivier Messiaen’s extraordinary “Quartet for the End of Time”. These players couple this transcendental masterpiece with works by Messiaen’s countrymen, Debussy and Ravel, highlighting the unique mystique, elegance, and atmospheric beauty of French music.

Each visit of this superb quartet brings us fresh musical insights. We can fully agree with the comment.

They have awards from Gramophone Magazine for their Bartók and Beethoven recordings and in 2005 they won both the Disc of the Year and Chamber Music Awards from BBC Music Magazine for their late Beethoven quartets recording.