The Danish Trio Vitruvi has had a remarkable track record since its inception in the summer of 2013. Just half a year after pianist Alexander McKenzie, violinist Niklas Walentin, and cellist Jacob la Cour began their collaboration they won both the first prize and the audience prize at the triennial [Danish national radio] P2 chamber music competition. Only two weeks later they won another prize – this time the first prize at the Latvian Jūrmala International Music Competition. The young trio has played all over Europe, has given a concert at the conservatory in the north-east Chinese city of Shenyang, and has of course also visited Russia.
They made their debut on Russian soil in Saint Petersburg in March 2015 on an invitation from the Danish Cultural Institute, where they played works by among others Carl Nielsen, Vagn Holmboe, and Dmitri Shostakovich at a total of three very well received concertsin the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, at the Rimsky-Korsakov Museum, and at the premises of the Danish Cultural Institute, respectively. According to the trio, the classical music scene in the city colloquially known as the capitol of culture in Russiastrengthens their faith in the future of the traditional art form of classical music:
At the concert held at the Danish Cultural Institute Trio Vitruvi had the opportunity to play Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in the presence of the former director of the Grand Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Dmitri Sollertinsky. Dmitri’s father, the polymath Ivan Sollertinsky, was one of Shostakovich’s closest friends, and the aforementioned piano trio that was completed in 1944, the same year that Sollertinsky senior died, was dedicated to his memory. This meeting between the Danish trio and Dmitri Sollertinsky – who had been a foster son in the Shostakovich family – resulted in an invitation to play at the 2016 edition of the yearly Sollertinsky International Music Festival, which is held in Ivan Sollertinsky’s city of birth, Vitebsk in Belarus.
The trio returns to St. Petersburg
The sold-out concert in the Vitebsk Philharmonic was held in front of an audience of approximately 500 people, making it an astounding success.
Exactly one year later, in March 2016, Trio Vitruvi returned to Saint Petersburg, as with the preceding year, on an invitation from the Danish Cultural Institute. Once again they played a successful concert – this time in the Prokofiev Hall in the Mariinsky Theatre, where they played works by Chausson and Shostakovich. After this concert the trio made their way to Vitebsk, Belarus. The journey from Saint Petersburg to Vitebsk was, according to the members of Trio Vitruvi themselves.
The sold-out concert in the Vitebsk Philharmonic was held in front of an audience of approximately 500 people, making it an astounding success. The trio once again played Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, dedicated to the man from whom the music festival takes its name.
”It was without a doubt one of our greatest experiences ever and this trip to Russia as a whole has only made us more excited to return!”
Already on 12 May a third of the trio returned, as Niklas Walentin played a concert alongside the Russian pianist Pavel Raikerus in the Prokofiev Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. With regards to the future, all three musicians have been invited to play in 2017 in one of the larger halls of Mariinsky Theatre by the renowned conductor and general director and artistic director of the theatre, Valery Gergiev. And so it seems that the ever climbing trajectory of Trio Vitruvi will continue at least for the time being. Finn Andersen is both excited and hopeful about the future of the trio in Russia:
“Even though it’s only the second time Trio Vitruvi has played concerts in St. Petersburg, with the concert in the Prokofiev Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre – as well as the following concert in Vitebsk in Belarus – it has really proven its international format to the musically picky Russians. Not every ensemble can convince the world famous conductor Valery Gergiev to use 45 minutes of his busy schedule to listen to them alone after a concert, and as a result invite them to play in the great concert hall of the Mariinsky next time. A huge recognition. A big tip of the hat should also go to the teacher and mentor of the trio, Professor Tim Frederiksen of DKDM [The Royal Danish Music Conservatory, red.], who is a major supplier of brilliant chamber music groups.”
Here at the Danish Cultural Institute in Saint Petersburg we are looking forward to getting a visit from them again next year.
Photocredit: PressPhoto & DCI