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 themselves 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, Musée du Louvre, l’Auditori Barcelona, Wigmore Hall, and Lincoln Center New York. 

Highlights of the 2024/2025 season include concerts in Madrid, London, Istanbul, Hong Kong, and at the Heidelberger Frühling festival. The trio is currently Ensemble in Residence at the Beethovenfest Bonn, where they gave the world premiere of the triple concerto Trinity with the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt which was written for them by Spanish composer Ferran Cruixent.   They will also tour in the USA and Israel. 

UK tours in the spring and summer of 2025 include visits to Malvern, Oxford, Edinburgh International Festival, Surrey Hills Festival and two concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall  

Last season included concerts in Singapore, at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Cologne Philharmonie, and the Elbphilharmonie. They also toured the USA and Italy, and performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Staatstheater Darmstadt and the Munich Symphony Orchestra.  

The trio has previously received the BBC Music Magazine's Chamber Music Award, and won first prize at the International Commerzbank Chamber Music Award. They have received the NORDMETALL Chamber Music Award at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Philharmonia-Martin Chamber Music Award. Supported by the Hattori Foundation, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Fidelio Trust, and Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, they previously received funding from the Initiative Musik under the German government's Neustart Kultur programme. 

Since 2014, a large number of recordings by the Sitkovetsky Trio have been released on the BIS Records label, including a compilation of works by Smetana, Suk, and Dvořák, which was enthusiastically received by critics. This has been followed by further releases on the Wigmore Live label and recordings of Mendelssohn piano trios, as well as an album with Ravel and Saint-Saëns, which was honoured with the BBC Music Magazine Award, among others. The Trio is currently continuing its cycle of Beethoven's trio works on the BIS label, of which Volume 1 has already received the Diapason d'Or ARTE.  

Previous seasons saw the trio on tour in South America, with concerts in Bogotá, Lima, and São Paulo, and in the USA, at Lincoln Center in New York, in Los Angeles, and Seattle. In Europe, they have performed at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Haarlem, and venues in Bilbao and Barcelona. A prominent project of theirs was performing Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps with both Andreas Ottensamer and Pablo Barragán. 

Alexander Sitkovetsky plays the ‘Parera’ Antonio Stradivarius violin (Cremona, 1679), and Isang Enders plays a cello by Carlo Tononi (Venice, 1720). Both instruments are kindly loaned by the J. & A. Beare International Violin Society. 

 
William BurtonChamber Ensemble