Merz Trio

Hailed as “entrancing” (BBC Music Magazine) and “artists in the deepest sense of the word” (CutCommon), Merz Trio, winners of the Naumburg, Concert Artists Guild, Fischoff and Chesapeake Competitions, and recipients of a Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, have been lauded for their “stunning virtuosity… fresh and surprising interpretations” (Reading Eagle), and “perfection of intonation and ensemble” (Hudson Review). Merz Trio are passionately committed to reshaping the narrative of classical music through vibrantly dynamic programming and wide-ranging interdisciplinary collaboration. Their narrative programming style juxtaposes classical standards, new music, and their own arrangements of familiar and forgotten works, fluidly interwoven and guided with speaking from the Trio’s members.

PROGRAM
Clara’s Circle

This program traces friendship through the steps of Clara Wieck Schumann, from 1857-1859, by way of flowers. It reflects sentiments from her Blumentagebuch – her diary of pressed flowers – in which Clara left dedications to meaningful people and moments in her life. This precious book accompanied her as she toured throughout Europe and served as a record of relationships, mourning and memory. Moving amongst Clara’s floral meditations, we explore floriography in its romantic heyday and delight in the coded and the unspoken. With Clara, we visit Robert, Beethoven and Brahms, and bring in a musical friend of our own, Chris Rogerson (b. 1988). In River Songs, Rogerson recalls family trips to Stehekin, WA, capturing its distinct topography and sense of nostalgia.