Trio con Brio brings a little Copenhagen to Saint Cloud

St. Paul, Minn. — They take their name from the Italian - words often used as a musical directive - "with life and spirit."

Trio con Brio Copenhagen.

Critics have praised the trio for their "sparkling joie de vivre."

A review of their performance at the Salzburg Mozarteum said, "they cast a spell over their audience...so alive, so musical...ravishing."

Two Korean sisters - Soo-Jin and Soo-Kyung Hong - and the Danish pianist Jens Elvekjaer who just happens to be married to Soo-Kyung - make up the trio, a group founded in Vienna in 1999.

It was only a matter of time before the trio swept the International Competition circuit, winning prizes in Germany, Italy and Scandinavia.

In 2005, the trio was given a huge boost receiving the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award - a coveted prize that helps rising ensembles gain traction in the concert world. The prize carries with it appearances on twenty major concert series across the United States including New York City's Carnegie Hall.

But even St. Cloud folks get a chance to be mesmerized by the trio's dazzling spirit and deep, heart-felt tones this coming weekend. The trio will give a series of concerts and demonstrations in a mini-residency beginning this Thursday.

The jam-packed schedule lists educational events for a diverse audience including the Boys & Girls Club and Whitney Senior Center, as well as a free family concert Saturday morning at the St. Cloud Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Susan Durbin, the Chamber Music Society's Executive Director feels very strongly that it is important to bring classical music to those who may not have a chance to hear it.

"Many professional musicians tell us they got their first taste of classical music when a group came to their school," she says. "But even if children never take a lesson, they can be inspired by hearing great music played live by world-class performers."

The concert program includes a work written last year and dedicated to Trio con Brio by Brent Sorensen, "Phantasmagoria."

The piece is an exotic ramble through every unusual technique possible on the three instruments - sliding bird-like glissandi, subtle floating quasi-melodies and an ethereal sense of shadow play, where music appears and disappears.

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In October 2008, Trio con Brio visited Saint Paul to participate in the 30th annual Music in the Park Series. Hear their performance of Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio on Thursday's Regional Spotlight on Classical MPR. The piano trio by Beethoven got its nickname, "Ghost," from the eerie and ominous-sounding second movement. Listen to Classical MPR Thursday afternoon to hear the entire performance, or click to hear the audio on the right.