MERZ TRIO

from Onstage Ogden Spring Concerts 2023

CASTING

Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G Minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Lento lugubre

Lines in Motion (2021) ........................................ Karim Al-Zand (b. 1970) co-commissioned by CM Houston and CM Columbus for the Merz Trio

Piano Trio No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 8 .....................

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

Intermission

Four Songs of Alma Mahler and Alban Berg ....... arranged and assembled by Merz Trio

Die Stille Stadt (from Five Songs, No. 1)

Alma Mahler (1879–1964)

Traumgekrönt (from Seven Early Songs, No. 4) ................. Alban Berg (1885–1935)

Laue Sommernacht (from Five Songs, No. 3) ............................. Alma Mahler

Sommertage (from Seven Early Songs, No. 7) ............................. Alban Berg

Piano Trio No. 2 in F Major, Op. 80 (1847)

I. Sehr lebhaft (Quickly moving)

II. Mit innigem Audsruck -- Lebhaft (With innermost expression -- Faster)

III. In mässiger Bewegung (Moderately moving)

IV. Nicht zu rasch (Not too fast)

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)

Hailed as “entrancing” (BBC Music Magazine) and “artists in the deepest sense of the word” (CutCommon), Merz Trio have established themselves at the forefront of the US chamber music scene, with upcoming debuts at Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, CM Houston, CM Detroit, MN’s Schubert Club, DC’s Strathmore Mansion, and Music Mountain, among others. Winners of the Naumburg, Concert Artists Guild, Fischoff, and Chesapeake Competitions, they 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. Their interdisciplinary collaborations include ongoing projects with directors Emma Jaster and Jon Levin, dancer Caroline Copeland, and Sandglass Puppet Theater.

The Trio are equally known for their more immersive integrations of music and text in performance, ranging from their recitaltheater piece built around Shakespeare’s Macbeth (“Those Secret Eyes”), to their debut album interweaving Ravel’s Trio with short pieces, poems, and diaries of the era (“Ink,” August, 2021), presented in the concert version “Ink Spills.” In their prolific arranging work, the Trio are committed to uplifting overlooked voices from history, ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Lili and Nadia Boulanger, from Joséphine Baker to Irish folk melodies.

Merz Trio have been encouraged in their explorations by numerous institutional homes around the world: New England Conservatory, Yellow Barn, Snape Maltings, Avaloch Farm Institute, the Naumburg Foundation, the Lake Champlain, Olympic, and Chesapeake Music Festivals, and the Fischoff Competition, as well as many other venues and hosts around the US, Australia and the UK. They are currently represented by Concert Artists Guild.