The Neave Trio, Anna Williams, Violin; Mikhail Veselov, Cello; and Eri Nakamura, Piano; returns to perform pieces by Debussy and Piazzolla live from the Chicago Cultural Center.
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 included Neave in its “Best of 2014” and “Best of 2016” roundups, writing, “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 Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center/La Jolla Music Society, 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 also appeared frequently as soloists for Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with orchestras across the country and held residency positions at Brown University, ArtsAhimsa Chamber Music Festival, San Diego State University as the first ever Fisch/Axelrod Trio-in-Residence, the Banff Centre (Canada), among many other institutions. In the fall of 2017, the Trio will join the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College as an Alumni Artists, Faculty Ensemble-in-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 performances with the Blythe Barton Dance Company, which earned “Best Dance Production” at the 2015 San Diego International Fringe Festival; projection artist Ryan Brady, who has added visual components to Neave’s performances of standard repertoire; the interactive concert series “STEIN2.0,” launched in collaboration with composer Amanuel Zarzowski; Klee Musings by acclaimed American composer Augusta Read Thomas, which was premiered by Neave; and the upcoming short film, 4Seasons, a genre-defying short film based on the tango music of Astor Piazzolla, in collaboration with filmmaker Pablo Berron and the Blythe Barton Dance Company.
Recordings include Neave’s 2016 debut American Moments on Chandos Records featuring works by Korngold, Foote, and Bernstein; and an upcoming 2018 release on Azica Records with all new arrangements of Piazzolla’s works for piano trio and voice by Argentinian arranger, Leonardo Suarez Paz. This album will feature mezzo-soprano and Metropolitan Opera singer, Carla Jablonski. Neave will also release an all-French album on Chandos Records in 2018, featuring music of Debussy, Fauré, and Roussel.
Concert highlights for the 2017-18 season include Charleston Chamber Music Society, Rochester Institute of Technology’s Performing Artists Concert Series, Harvard Music Association, Concerts at the Point (Westport, MA), Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Desert Community Orchestra, Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), Brightwaters Library Chamber Series, and Promisek Salon Concerts, among many other performances.