Storioni Trio

The Storioni Trio specializes not only in piano trio repertory but also in triple concertos -- works for piano trio and orchestra. The group performs on both period and modern instruments, and it has commissioned a good deal of contemporary music. The Storioni Trio was founded in the Netherlands in 1995. The ensemble's name comes from that of the violin-maker Lorenzo Storioni, the builder of the instrument played by violinist Wouter Vossen. The other members are cellist Marc Vossen (who plays a 1700 Giovanni Grancino instrument) and pianist Bar van de Roer. In its early years, the group had lessons from the Vermeer Quartet, violinist Isaac Stern, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and Menahem Pressler, the pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio. The group's performing career accelerated after it won the Kersjes Prize in 2000. The Storioni Trio has cultivated a concert style in which, unusually among chamber groups, they talk about the music and tell its story. In 2005, the trio made its recording debut on the PentaTone Classics label with an album of piano trios by Beethoven. In 2008, the group moved to Ars Produktion for the first of two albums devoted to the trios of Julius Röntgen. A distinctive feature of the Storioni Trio's repertory is that the group often performs triple concertos. These include not only Beethoven's well-known example but also works by Alfredo Casella, Paul Juon, Bohuslav Martinu, Emánuel Moór, and Jan Václav Voříšek. In addition, the group has commissioned new triple concertos from composers, including Kevin Volans, Peter-Jan Wagemans, and Nico Muhly. Thanks to this specialty, the Storioni Trio has appeared with some 35 orchestras, including the RTÉ National Symphony in Ireland, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Both in orchestral concerts and chamber music appearances, the group may use either historical strings and bows or modern equipment. It has toured throughout Asia, Australia, and the U.S., in addition to Britain and continental Europe. The trio founded its own Storioni Festival in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, featuring one new triple concerto commission annually. The Storioni Trio continued to record for Ars Produktion, releasing a group of trios by Clara Schumann, Rebecca Clarke, and Alba Rose Viëtor in 2014, among other albums. The group moved to BIS in 2021 for an album with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, featuring the double and triple concertos of Kalevi Aho. ~ James Manheim, Rovi