Sponsors: Raymond & Linda Enders, Dan & Pat Hottenstein, Jack & Rita Gahres, Jim & Becky Ulsh
Since its founding in 1997, the MENDELSSOHN PIANO TRIO has performed over 500 concerts in the US, Europe and Asia. The group has also recorded 15 CDs including most recently a cycle of the complete Haydn Piano Trios released on Centaur Records. The Mendelssohn Piano Trio's extensive repertoire of over 100 works embraces music from all periods of the genre's history. Ensemble members are superb soloists in their own right, having enjoyed diversified musical careers that transcend international boundaries and range from solo appearances with various orchestras to chamber music collaborations with such artists as Earl Carlyss, Ann Schein, Ronald Leonard, Igor Zhukov, Natalia Gutman, as well as many other musicians of international stature.
Pianist, Ya-Ting Chang is from Taiwan; violinist, Peter Sirotin is from Ukraine; and cellist, Fiona Thompson is from England. The Washington Post described their Brahms as “unfathomably beautiful” and “electrifying,” while praising their “technically immaculate” and “rich in psychological insight” Tchaikovsky. American Record Guide hailed the Mendelssohn Piano Trio’s recording of Smetana and Suk piano trios as “brilliant,” and Fanfare magazine lauded their recording of complete Haydn Piano Trios as “bracing as a breath of crisp winter air, enlivening and rejuvenating in a way that earlier performances were not.” European reviewers noted “freshness and energy” in “rarely emotional” interpretations of Haydn piano trios, while Audiophilia magazine praised these recordings as “warm, sonorous and lively.” The Mendelssohn Piano Trio performances and recordings can be frequently heard on many classical radio stations including NPR’s Performance Today.