Benedetti Elschen-broich Grynyuk get high praise

The Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio take a bow at their Vancouver Recital Society performance on April 8, 2018 (Photo credit: Vancouver Recital Society)

Each leading soloists of their generation, violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk, acclaimed by London's Telegraph as “a trio of true stars”, just completed a highly successful 5-concert tour of North America that included Vancouver Recital Society, Charlottesville and Boston’s Gardner Museum. The feedback from the presenters, critics and audiences was unanimously stupendous!

Geoffrey Newman of Vancouver Classical Music writes: "This is a trio with a gorgeously large and well-appointed sound, offering playing of strong unanimity, colour and blend. For all of the charismatic qualities of its individual members, the ensemble displays a strong seriousness of purpose on stage. This outing made quite an impression, revealing a piano trio that not only scores through its interpretative strength but also is endearing in its pursuit of romantic ardour. The results are glowing ... Benedetti and Elschenbroich also came together for a stunning performance of a duo piece on ‘modern love’ written for them in 2015 by esteemed British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage.

One has to be slightly in awe of the tonal beauty and strength of these three artists: Benedetti has a wonderfully clarity, resilience and expression in her playing; Elschenbroich is slightly more modest, but absolutely cunning and probing, while Grynyuk has enviable keyboard touch and flexibility. The musicians pull together with a lovely tonal sheen and overarching weight at climaxes, and always secure transparent detail. Their performance of the Ravel Trio illustrated these attributes to a tee. They found a delicious rhapsodic sense and sensuality in the opening Modéré, moving out to the most explosive surges of energy in the subsequent movement. Everyone contributed to the frisson and tonal weight in the latter, and one observed the tremendous feeling in Benedetti’s playing and her ability to spring out to dramatic assertion like a coiled cat. The following Passicaille belonged to Elschenbroich: he opened with a most sensitive cello, with Benedetti joining him to sustain the expressive line with perfection. The finale moved to full throttle, starting from beautifully-appointed filigree textures, then increasing the weight and sense of emotional angst to a fully tempestuous level – just as Ravel intended. Here the sheer strength and sense of yearning in Benedetti’s playing was striking, as was the passion and weight in Grynyuk’s piano.

This concert served as a most enjoyable introduction to the Benedetti-Elschenbroich-Grynyuk Trio, giving rare insight into the talents and personalities each of these illustrious artists. I left this concert with only one thought: How often does one see instrumental playing of this exalted stature? Not very often indeed!"

Leon Golub of The Boston Musical Intelligencer raves, "Opening with Schubert’s single-movement Adagio D.897, known as Notturno, the Benedetti-Elschenbroich-Grynyuk [piano] Trio delivered richness and variety on Sunday at the Gardner Museum. Choosing to open the concert with Schubert’s Notturno served the B-E-G Trio well, as it showcased how three highly autonomous soloist musicians have joined forces to perform with intense coherence but no fear of fusion. The balance among the three was excellent throughout, as if each musician were nurturing a proper voice that was made possible by the two others. Leonard Elschenbroich’s cello expressed a sort of boundless and voluptuous pain; Nicola Benedetti’s violin was as pure and penetrating as Zeno’s arrow; Alexei Grynyuk’s piano was magnificently eloquent, as though charged with articulating the ineffable content of the strings’ outpouring of emotion. The combined effect reached the sublime."

Here are multiple rave reviews from concert patrons:

"A superb concert: lively wonderful music making from three musicians who clearly are at the top of their game and who enjoy creating music together."

"The Ravel Piano Trio is such an iconic piece to hear performed live. These talented young players more than did it justice this afternoon. Thank you for bringing them to our stage."

"The trio delivered a program that combined technique and passion plus magic. I left with a new appreciation for Brahms and Ravel and loved that they included a contemporary duet for violin and cello which obviously meant so much to the two musicians who played it. A brilliant concert that I'll remember for a long time to come."

"Exceptional performance on all parts. We enjoyed the playing tremendously. It is true that every concert supersedes the one before."