The Grand Prize winners of the 2024 Coltman Chamber Music Competition, Trio Sponte, return to dazzle Austin audiences. Together, they prove how well a piano trio serves as a vessel for personal expression and national identity: Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 1 marks the turn of the century and a new era of music, and Ives’s Piano Trio shatters tradition 100 years later. Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 1 connects the two with passionate Romanticism and introspection.
Austin Chamber Music Center’s Friday Night Season Concerts are an up-close-and-personal setting for chamber music at the beautiful Draylen Mason Music Studio at KMFA. Friday night tickets include complimentary drinks and light bites served at a post-concert reception with the artists.
Saturday Night Season Concerts run in tandem with Fridays and take place at the First Unitarian Church; tickets include a post-concert reception that includes appetizers and drinks, as well as a Q&A session with the artists. Subject to availability, $12 Student Rush (with student ID), $33 General Admission, and $48 Premium tickets may be purchased at the box office starting at 6:30 PM on the evening of the Saturday night concert.
Program
Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1 | Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
- Allegro
- Adagio cantabile
- Scherzo. Allegro assai
- Finale. Presto
Piano Trio | Charles Ives (1874–1954)
- Moderato
- TSIAJ (“This scherzo is a joke”). Presto
- Moderato con moto
INTERMISSION
Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 63 | Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
- Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
- Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch
- Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung
- Mit Feuer
TRIO SPONTE
Nick Hammel, violin | Stephanie Yang, cello | Charles Berofsky, piano
Run time: This concert is approximately 84 minutes, plus one short intermission.
Trio Sponte
Trio Sponte is a dynamic ensemble comprised of graduates of the New England Conservatory in Boston. Violinist Nick Hammel, cellist Yi-I Stephanie Yang, and pianist Charles Berofsky started playing together at the Taos School of Music during the summer of 2023 and, drawn to each other’s artistry and passion for music, decided to start playing together as a professional ensemble.
As winners of the Grand Prize at the 2024 Coltman Chamber Music Competition (Senior Division), Trio Sponte is thrilled to be featured on the Austin Chamber Music Series this season. Each of the trio’s members are experienced chamber musicians as well as soloists, having won prizes at various competitions and appeared with renowned artists and ensembles.