Trio con Brio Copenhagen: New Voices (2:3)
This evening, Trio con Brio Copenhagen returns with yet another new work, this time by Rune Glerup. And then the trio becomes a quintet again with two new voices in classical music.
This season you can experience Trio con Brio Copenhagen in the new concert series New Voices, which is a three-year series with concerts in Boulez-Saal Berlin, the Diamond Copenhagen and Aarhus Musikforening. Tonight's concert is the second concert in the series.
Each concert features a world premiere of a brand new composition commissioned by Trio con Brio Copenhagen in harmony with an important piano trio from the 20th century. In the series, three of today's most significant composers give their take on what a piano trio should sound like in the 2020s.
The concerts conclude with one of the greatest piano quintets, where the trio is expanded with two young, new voices.
In March 2025, Trio con Brio Copenhagen received 6 hearts in Politiken for their new album Harmonie du Soir, and wrote, among other things: ”Trio con Brio is and will remain Denmark's major international ensemble when it comes to piano trios”.
Look forward to experiencing them in the Queen's Hall!
About tonight's program
When composer Rune Glerup (b.1981) works, he deliberately seeks to short-circuit the familiar and comfortable, so that musical beauty can emerge despite violent tensions and contrasts. This evening you can hear his brand new trio, which is followed by a piano trio by Weinberg. The concert ends with Shostakovich's Piano Quintet, where the trio is expanded with violinist Michael Germer and violist Nicholas Algot Swensen.
Participants
Trio with Brio Copenhagen
“Con brio” is Italian for “with energy”, and the trio has toured the world with their fresh, contemporary approach to the classical repertoire, based in Copenhagen. The trio was formed from the idea of the meeting between two musical couples; the two Korean-born sisters violinist Soo-Jin and cellist Soo-Kyung Hong, and Soo-Kyung’s husband, pianist Jens Elvekjær.
Michael Germer
Violinist Michael Germer was the youngest semi-finalist in the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, which was broadcast live worldwide. As a soloist, he has played with, among others, the Webern Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de l'Université de Genève, and collaborated with conductors such as Lahav Shani and Vladimir Kiradjiev. In August 2019, he was awarded the large Jakob Gade Grant in Tivoli Concert Hall.
Nicholas Algot Swensen
Nicholas Algot Swensen is a passionate violist, chamber musician, soloist and conductor. As a violist, he has won several awards, such as the Oskar Nedbal Competition in 2020 (Prague). He currently studies at Royal Danish Academy of Music, while also participating in DR's Malko Conducting School.
Programme
Rune Glerup (b. 1981): new trio*
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996): Piano trio op. 24 (1945)
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Piano Quintet Op. 57 (1940)
*premiere in Boulez-Saal Berlin, March 2026
The three composers in New Voices are supported by Augustinus Fonden.
