Polyphony Arts is working with the Marsyas Trio to promote their latest chamber music programmes. For enquiries, please contact sarah@polyphonyarts.com
Marsyas Trio
Helen Vidovich – Flute | Val Welbanks – Cello | Olga Stezhko – Piano
The London-based Marsyas Trio, formed in 2009 by graduates of the Royal Academy of Music, is the UK’s leading flute, cello and piano ensemble. Showcasing a hugely diverse repertoire from the Classical and Romantic eras to the present day, the Marsyas Trio’s programming illuminates forgotten masterpieces, whilst inspiring a generation of new works through commissioning initiatives and recording projects.
The Trio’s concert highlights include performances at Conway Hall and Kettle’s Yard, tours in Europe, China, the USA & Canada, in the West Country for Concerts in the West, and in rural Wales as part of Arts Council Wales’ Night Out scheme, which aims to bring outstanding chamber music to regional audiences. UK festival highlights include the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, St David’s Cathedral Festival, Vale of Glamorgan, Three Choirs Festivals and Spitalfields Music in the City. The Marsyas Trio’s live performances have been broadcast on Swiss Radio RTS Espace2, Classic FM Bulgaria and BBC Radio 3.
The Marsyas Trio’s latest CD In the Theatre of Air (NMC Recordings 2018), debuted at No. 7 on the classical charts. The disc was warmly reviewed in Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine (4-stars), Tempo and featured in the Sunday Times The Week’s Essential New Releases, with broadcasts including BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Lyric FM.
The ensemble has worked with Britain’s leading composers, both established and emerging, including Michael Finnissy, Judith Weir and Laura Bowler. The Marsyas Trio has received generous and repeated support from the RVW Trust, PRS Foundation, Hinrichsen Foundation, Ambache Charitable Trust, Fidelio Charitable Trust, Britten-Pears Foundation and Arts Council England. In 2019 they were awarded a touring grant to North America from HMUK’s Do IT Differently Fund. In June 2022, the trio were announced as recipients of an Artist By-Fellowship at Churchill College, at the University of Cambridge.
The Trio takes its name from Greek mythology – inspired by the bold, spirited passion of Marsyas, the celebrated pipe-playing satyr who dared to challenge and defeat Apollo in a musical contest.
“The performances throughout are excellent and involving.”
Gramophone, ‘In The Theatre of the Air’
“The Marsyas Trio’s performance is refined; Vidovich’s flute playing languid and sensuous, Ren’s piano delicate and sensitive, and Welbanks’ cello lends a darkness and gravitas to the sound without compromising the intimacy of the works.”
Limelight Magazine, ‘Firsova: A Triple Portrait’
Projects
2021-22 Polyphony Arts is pleased to offer a wide variety of programmes with the Marsyas Trio, along with vocal programmes featuring mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean. Their current projects include:
- A premiere performance of Michael Finnissy’s Wisdom, for flute, cello, piano and mezzo soprano.
- Shadows of Time – The 13th B’ak’tun: The story of a planet travelling through time, featuring either live shadow puppetry with Smoking Apples or a film installation by Julian Hand.
- Three Little Mammoths: A narrated musical story for children, written by Robin Haigh and Eoin McLaughlin.
- Why No Women Mozarts? An all-female line-up of composers across three centuries.
- Invention and Revolution: Spanning three centuries of social unrest in continental Europe, this programme feature composers who were forward-thinking in their day.
- Travelling the British Isles: A celebration of the vibrant cultural life of Britain, featuring Clementi, Mendelssohn, and Hilary Tann.
- From Master to Pupil: Exploring the passing of playing and composing traditions between three generations of composers, linked through their musical lineage as pupils and teachers.
For more information or sample programmes, please get in touch with us.
Audio
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Contact
For performance enquiries or further information about the Marsyas Trio’s projects, please contact Sarah Ponman, Artist and Project Manager.