Trio Bamberg

When three outstanding soloists form as a trio, success is just around the corner: Trio Bamberg has received critical acclaim as one of Europe's top ensembles. Trio Bamberg meanwhile has released five CDs, of which one, featuring the piano trios of Schnittke and Shostakovich on Thorofon label, was awarded the most prestigious "German Record Critics' Prize."

In recent seasons, the trio has made debuts at important venues in Frankfurt, Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Bergen, Brussels, Bukarest, Barcelona, Shanghai, Osaka, Johannesburg, and Graz. The ensemble was also featured at major international festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival (with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau), the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival, the Mahlerwoche Toblach, the Maggio della Musica Napoli, the Ljubljana Festival and the Festival Cervantino in Mexico City.

Pianist Robert Benz is the winner of the International Busoni Competition and the International Liszt-Bartók Competition. He has been hailed as one of Germany's most accomplished pianists. The Russian violinist Yevgeny Schuk was the concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra at the early age of 23 and now holds the same position with the State Opera Orchestra in Stuttgart. The third member of the trio, cellist Stephan Gerlinghaus from Bamberg, is a prizewinner of several competitions and former solo cellist with the German Chamber Academy.

Trio Bamberg has received enthusiastic reviews by critics: The Badische Neueste Nachrichten quotes "golden moments of chamber music," The Nürnberger Nachrichten a "meeting with three Olympians," while The Frankfurter Rundschau cited the trio's "outstanding fiery playing." The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted its "rich spirit," and Scala called the trio's performance "outstanding," the Kölnische Rundschau, "world class" and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, "fantastic."