Neave Trio Performs Music by Clara Schumann, Amy Beach and More in Virtual Concert

On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 7:30pm PT, the Boston-based Neave Trio will give an online performance presented by the University of Idaho's Auditorium Chamber Music Series. The program includes works by four women composers - Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke, and Jennifer Higdon - highlighting an ongoing theme in Neave's programming: Her Voice. The concert was recorded at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where the trio is on faculty, and will be free and available to watch at NeaveTrio.auditoriumseries.org or via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/AuditoriumSeries.

Clara Schumann's Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17 is widely regarded as one of her best-known compositions. It was written after she endured a great personal loss and is full of heartfelt melodies and beautiful harmonies. You can hear her brilliant pianism, and arguably, musical inspiration that she provided to some of her famous male composer contemporaries.

Composed late in her career, Amy Beach's Piano Trio, Op.150 incorporates lush, romantic melodies over a variety of textures, tones, and impressionistic colors. Of their 2019 Chandos recording of the work, The Strad praises, "The dreamy cello melody of the opening Allegro - luxuriously played by Mikhail Veselov - blooms into tender interplay between the strings. Violinist Anna Williams echoes Veselov's delicate touch, underpinned by eminently sensitive pianism from Eri Nakamura. It's a finely etched and persuasive performance..."

One of her most prominent pieces, Rebecca Clarke's Piano Trio showcases her unique harmonic language, influenced by both the French and British styles of the early 20th century, as well as by folk music. According to Gramophone, the Neave Trio delivers "a taut and vivid interpretation" and is "sumptuously recorded."

Jennifer Higdon's Piano Trio is comprised of two movements: "Pale Yellow" and "Fiery Red." Of the work, Higdon writes, "The colors that I have chosen in both of the movement titles and in the music itself, reflect very different moods and energy levels, which I find fascinating, as it begs the question, can colors actually convey a mood?"

About the Neave Trio: Since forming in 2010, Neave Trio - violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura - has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. WQXR explains, "'Neave' is actually a Gaelic name meaning 'bright' and 'radiant', both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making." The Boston Musical Intelligencer reports, "it is inconceivable that they will not soon be among the busiest chamber ensembles going," and "their unanimity, communication, variety of touch, and expressive sensibility rate first tier."

Neave has performed at many esteemed concert series and at festivals worldwide, including Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 92nd Street Y, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), and the Samoylov and Rimsky Korsakow Museums' Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia). The Trio has held residency positions at Brown University, University of Virginia, San Diego State University as the first ever Fisch/Axelrod Trio-in-Residence, and the Banff Centre (Canada), among many other institutions. Neave Trio was also in residence at the MIT School of Architecture and Design in collaboration with dancer/choreographer Richard Colton. In the fall of 2017, the Trio joined the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College as Alumni Artists, Faculty Ensemblea?'ina?'Residence.

Neave Trio strives to champion new works by living composers and reach wider audiences through innovative concert presentations, regularly collaborating with artists of all mediums. These collaborations include D-Cell: an Exhibition & Durational Performance, conceived and directed by multi-disciplinary visual artist David Michalek; as well as performances with the Blythe Barton Dance Company; with dance collective BodySonnet; with projection designer Ryan Brady; in the interactive concert series "STEIN2.0," with composer Amanuel Zarzowski; in Klee Musings by acclaimed American composer Augusta Read Thomas, which was premiered by Neave; in the premiere of Eric Nathan's Missing Words V, sponsored by Coretet; in Leah Read's Cloud Burst for piano trio and electronics; in Dale Trumbore's Another Chance; and in a music video by filmmaker Amanda Alvarez Díaz of Astor Piazzolla's "Otoño Porteño."

Gramophone described Neave Trio's latest album Her Voice as, "a splendid introduction to these three pioneering female composers," while The Guardian describes the three compositions by Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke, and Louise Farrenc as, "distinctive and distinguished chamber works." Neave Trio's other critically acclaimed recordings include Celebrating Piazzolla (Azica Records, 2018), which features mezzo-soprano Carla Jablonski; French Moments (Chandos Records, 2018); and its debut album, American Moments (Chandos Records, 2016).

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered concert halls around the world, the Neave Trio continues to find meaningful ways to perform safely. The Trio has performed virtual concerts for The Violin Channel's "Living Room Live" series, the "Notes of Hope: Music for the Frontline" series, and for Longy School of Music of Bard College's Virtual Benefit. Recent and upcoming livestream concerts include performances presented by the Asheville Chamber Music Series and the Auditorium Chamber Music Series at University of Idaho. In addition to the Newport Music Festival, recent and upcoming outdoor, socially distanced concerts include performances at PS21 in Chatham, NY; and the Walnut Hill School's "Summer of Art, Six Feet Apart" festival.

For more information, visit www.neavetrio.com

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