Sitkovetsky Trio

Sitkovetsky Trio

Chamber Ensemble

“The Sitkovetsky Trio play not just in three individual parts but, more importantly, in three dimensions...”
— The Australian, 2017

Contact

Lorna Neill
(UK & Ireland)

+44 (0) 7798 531 819
lorna@musicinteralia.com

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Reviews

Reviews Archive

“Schubert is far more even-handed in his Piano Trio in B flat major, with players sharing equal prominence in his stormy, passionate four-movement epic. For all the brilliance of the quicksilver scherzo and quirky country dance-like rondo, it was the songlike melody in the andante, swapped so dreamily between cello and violin, that will linger longest in the memory.”

*****

Stephen Pritchard, The Observer, November 2023; Concert Review of The Sitkovetsky Trio at Bath Mozartfest

“Few could fail to be moved by the Sitkovetsky Trio’s tenderness and concentrated intensity, here and elsewhere. For poetry, colouristic imagination and, not least, an infectious sense of shared enjoyment, these performances can hold their own against any rivals.”

Richard Wigmore, Gramophone, November 2023 (Album Review of Beethoven: Piano Trios Vol. 2)

“The Sitkovetsky Trio were in Hong Kong to perform in a chamber music setting and then as soloists with a full orchestra – and the abundance of joy in their playing was clear in both concerts. Russian violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and German-Korean cellist Isang Enders are so at one that their tasteful vibrato often seems to be in complete sync. They and the third member of the trio, Chinese pianist Wu Qian, produced a sound of ethereal beauty. Sitkovetsky and Enders tackled with relish their roles as soloists with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of principal guest conductor Christoph Poppen. All three members did not tinker with the fine delicacy of articulation that is a hallmark of their work, Wu’s tonal shading and dexterity were top-notch.”

South China Morning Post (Christopher Halls), November 2019

“The Sitkovetsky Trio play not just in three individual parts but, more importantly, in three dimensions... Architectural shape and overriding purpose prevailed, the very last notes being delivered with as much edge-of-the-seat importance as the first. This was the real deal. [Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1, Op.49]”

–The Australian, 2017

“These three artists – all in their early 30s – have fused rapidly into an exemplary piano trio, working through a demanding program with excellent fluency and solid collegiality of attack, phrase-shaping and insight.”

–Sydney Morning Herald, 2017

“The first half’s melodramatic serving of tragedy and visceral protest, Russian-style, was a stunner. There were no boring drifts. No throwaway segments in which thoughts can wander and dreams unfold. The Sitkovetsky don’t let their listeners off the hook. And their zest for high drama resonates in unusually prolonged endings... Deeply rewarding, the recital brimmed with infectious sincerity, wild energy and impressive unity.”

–Limelight Magazine, 2017

“Wu Qian’s playing was full of colour and power – she isn’t afraid to stand out boldly when the music calls for it. I haven’t heard a better performance of this work [Shostakovich Piano Trio No.2]”

–Adelaide Now, 2017

“The Trio Sitkovetsky’s playing displays colour, liveliness and a strong feel for Mendelssohn’s voice. It has all the ‘fire and vivacity, the flow in a word the mastery’ that Ferdinand Hiller described after hearing the premiere in 1840. Wu Qian dazzles but never blinds and her seemingly easy-virtuosity is well matched by violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky. There is always the sense of three individuals listening to one another to create a satisfying whole.”

–BBC Music Magazine (4 stars) (CD Recording BIS Records: MENDELSSOHN Piano Trios), 2015

“The pianist in the Andante [of the D minor Trio] sets up a good tempo, with an apt balance between eloquence and simplicity. In the C minor Trio, they dispatch the scherzo with great spirit and are particularly compelling in the finale, with a palpable sense of elation at the switch to the major in the closing minutes.”

–Gramophone, 2015

“Secret weapon of the UK based Piano Trio is called Wu Qian. Under the hands of this Chinese pianist the Steinway turns into an X-ray device that displays each and every grain.”

–Volkskrant, 2015

“These are three instrumentalists at the top of their game, who blend well and play with a sense of shared purpose. Tempi, phrasing and dynamics all seem comfortable and right and couldn't be bettered.”

–Music Web International, 2015

“One of Mendelssohn’s own watercolours of the Amalfi coast is on the cover of the Sitkovetsky Trio’s recording, all honeyed village walls and turquoise sea; a similar sense of heat and spaciousness comes across in their performance of his two piano trios […] The slow movement of No 1 is full of long phrases and sweet violin tone, and the finale rounds things off with a fine balance of breadth and playfulness.”

–The Guardian (4 stars), 2015

 

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Biography

The Sitkovetsky Trio has established itself as an exceptional piano trio of today. Their thoughtful and committed approach has brought the ensemble critical acclaim and invitations to renowned concert halls around the world including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Palais des Beaux Arts, Musee du Louvre, l’Auditori Barcelona, Wigmore Hall and Lincoln Center New York.

Recently, the trio received the Chamber Music Award of the BBC Music Magazine. Furthermore, they are first prize-winners of the International Commerzbank Chamber Music Award and recipients of the NORDMETALL Chamber Music Award at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, as well as the Philharmonia-Martin Chamber Music Award. They have been supported by the Hattori Foundation, the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Fidelio Trust and the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation. Last season, they received a generous funding from the Initiative Musik as part of the Neustart Kultur programme launched by the German government.

In 2014, the Sitkovetsky Trio released their first recording for BIS Records with works by Smetana, Suk and Dvořák to much critical acclaim. This led to further releases of works by Brahms and Schubert on the Wigmore Live Label and another recording for BIS of Mendelssohn Trios, as well as Beethoven’s Trios, Op. 1 and Op. 70, and Allegretto in B-flat major for Piano Trio, WoO 39. The album received a Diapason d’Or ARTE and was released as Vol. 1 of a complete Beethoven cycle. In July 2021, the Trio’s fifth album, of Ravel’s Piano Trio and Saint-Saëns Trio No. 2, was released to great critical acclaim and received a Supersonic Award from Pizzicato Magazine.

Last season saw the trio on tour in South America, with concerts in Bogotá, Lima and Sao Paulo,and in the USA, at Lincoln Center in New York, in Los Angeles and Seattle. Concerts throughout Europe included the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Haarlem, venues in Bilbao and Barcelona, a project with Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps with Andreas Ottensamer and Pablo Barragán, and a return invitation to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Highlights of the 2023/2024 season include concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Cologne Philharmonie and the Elbphilharmonie. They are also on tour in the USA and Italy and will perform …

 
William BurtonChamber Ensemble