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Three-time winner of the French Victoire de la Musique Classique
Trio Wanderer debuts in Hong Kong with two performances

For immediate release
7 May 2025

Stepping into the month of May, Hong Kong Sinfonietta is delighted to collaborate with the French May Arts Festival once again, introducing the distinguished piano trio from France and three-time winner of Best Chamber Ensemble of the Year at the Victoire de la Musique Classique, Trio Wanderer. Praised for their “near-telepathic musical sensibility” and “[impressive] command of the emotional panorama of the music” (The Strad), the Trio will make their Hong Kong début on 14 May (Wed), presenting a recital of piano trio classics by Debussy, Ravel and Mendelssohn. They will also join hands with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Music Director Designate of the FOK-Prague Symphony Orchestra, conductor Tomáš Netopil to perform Beethoven’s iconic Triple Concerto at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall on 17 May (Sat). Tickets are on sale now with discount packages available.

Trio Wanderer’s name pays homage to Schubert and more widely to German Romanticism, which is often imbued with the leitmotif of the wandering traveller. The three French musicians who all graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris – pianist Vincent Coq, violinist Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian and cellist Raphaël Pidoux – are avid, openminded wandering travellers exploring the musical world, quickly rising to being recognised as one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles, and hailed as the “true successor” of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio (Die Rheinpfalz). In 1997, 2000 and 2009, the Trio won Best Chamber Ensemble of the Year at the prestigious Victoire de la Musique Classique, and their extensive discography has garnered awards and commendations including CHOC de l’Année by Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason d’Or de l’Année, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, The Strad Recommendation etc.

For their long-awaited Hong Kong début, Trio Wanderer will present a recital on 14 May (Wed) showcasing a programme of captivating classics. Starting with the charming lyricism of Debussy’s early Piano Trio in G, Ravel’s ambitious Piano Trio in A minor written during the First World War will fill the hall with its almost orchestral grandeur and fervour. The programme will conclude with Mendelssohn’s brilliant Piano Trio in D minor, for which Schumann hailed the composer as “the Mozart of the 19^th century”.

On 17 May (Sat), under the baton of Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil, Music Director Designate of the FOK-Prague Symphony Orchestra, Trio Wanderer will collaborate with Hong Kong Sinfonietta to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, an expansive and fascinating work highlighting the composer’s creative flair. The programme also features Netopil’s authoritative interpretations of Martinů’s sparkling, neo-Baroque Overture and Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No 6.

French May Arts Festival

HKS Recital Series:

Trio Wanderer HK Début

14 May 2025 (Wednesday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$450, $320, $180

Programme
Debussy – Piano Trio in G
Ravel – Piano Trio in A minor
Mendelssohn – Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op 49

French May Arts Festival

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Trio Wanderer Plays Beethoven Triple Concerto

17 May 2025 (Saturday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$520, $380, $220

Conductor: Tomáš Netopil
Trio Wanderer

Programme
Martinů – Overture, H345
Beethoven – Concerto in C for Violin, Cello & Piano, Op 56
Dvořák – Symphony No 6 in D, Op 60

Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group bookings of 4 or more standard tickets
Discount packages
Suitable for 6 years old or above
Tickets at URBTIX
Tickets online at POPTICKET (no handling fee)

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Trio Wanderer

Trio Wanderer’s stage name pays homage to Schubert and more widely to German Romanticism, which is often imbued with the leitmotif of the wandering traveller. These three French musicians are avid, openminded wandering travellers who explore the musical world, spanning the centuries from Mozart and Haydn to the present. Acclaimed for its extraordinarily sensitive style, as well as almost telepathic mutual understanding and technical mastery, the Trio is one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles.

Hailed as a “Wandering Star” by The Strad, the Trio performs on the most prestigious music stages including the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Palau de la Música Catalana, Teatro alla Scala, Moscow Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Montréal Place des Arts, Munich Herkulessaal, Library of Congress in Washington, Kioi Hall in Tokyo and Tonhalle Zürich. They have also performed at major festivals including the Salzburg, Edinburgh, Montreux, Schleswig-Holstein, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Folle Journée de Nantes, Rheingau, Schwetzingen, Stresa, Granada and Osaka International Chamber Music festivals.

In triple concertos, the Trio has collaborated over a hundred times with international orchestras such as Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Sinfonia Varsovia, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Stockholm Chamber Orchestra etc, under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin, Christopher Hogwood, James Loughran, François-Xavier Roth, Louis Langrée, Arie van Beek, Marco Guidarini, Ken-David Masur, Ion Marin, José Areán, Charles Dutoit and James Conlon, amongst others.

With a particular fondness for contemporary music, the Trio has premiered works by composers including Thierry Escaich, Bruno Mantovani, Frank Michael Beyer, Christian Rivet, Matteo Franceschini and Philippe Hersant.

In addition to records for Sony Classical, Universal, Cyprès, Mirare and Capriccio, the Trio began collaborating with harmonia mundi in 1999. 20 recordings have been released since then: trios by Chausson, Ravel, Haydn, Shostakovich, Fauré, Pierné, Arensky, Tchaikovsky, Copland, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn, Smetana; the complete trios by Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven and Schumann; Schubert’s and Hummel’s piano quintets; triple concertos by Beethoven and Martinů with the Gürzenich Orchester Köln; and pieces by Liszt and Messiaen. These recordings have received many awards and commendations including CHOC de l’Année by Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason d’Or de l’Année, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Recommendation by The Strad, CD of the Month by FONO FORUM and BBC Music Magazine, and MIDEM Classical Award. Their most recent albums were devoted to the trios of Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Schumann and Franck.

In addition to their numerous radio and television recordings on Radio France, BBC, ARD and Mezzo, the Trio was the subject of a film made by the French-German television company ARTE in 2003. In 2017, for the Trio’s 30th anniversary, a book written by Olivier Bellamy, tracing the history of the Trio, was published by Art3 Plessis Editions.

Trio Wanderer’s members all graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. In 1989-1990, they studied at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington and New York’s The Juilliard School. In 1988, they won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and, in 1990, the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the USA. The Trio was thrice-awarded Best Chamber Ensemble of the Year at the French Victoire de la Musique Classique in 1997, 2000 and 2009. In 2015, the Trio’s members were bestowed with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government. The Trio teaches a piano trio class at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris, which prepares ensembles for concerts and international competitions.

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Tomáš Netopil Conductor

An inspirational force particularly in Czech music, Tomáš Netopil is the Chief Conductor and Music Director Designate of the FOK-Prague Symphony Orchestra, and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic from 2018 to 2024, performing regularly on tour and in concerts at the Rudolfinum in Prague, where he continues to conduct the orchestra’s live-televised New Year concerts. He was Music Director at the Prague National Theatre from 2008 to 2012.

Netopil explores a wide range of symphonic repertoire in engagements with the Oslo Philharmonic, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Naples Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra etc. He also works with the period ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien, with which he will present an authentic production of Mozart’s Requiem at the 2025 Prague Spring Festival.

Opera productions conducted by Netopil in recent seasons include Janáček’s Jenůfa at the Hamburg Staatsoper, Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Prague National Theatre, Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Die Zauberflöte with the New National Theatre Tokyo and Don Giovanni with Oper Köln.

Netopil is the Founder and Artistic Director of the International Summer Music Academy in Kroměříž, offering students both exceptional artistic tuition and the opportunity to meet and work with major international musicians. In 2021, in association with the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, the Academy established the Dvořák Prague Youth Philharmonic with musicians from conservatories and music academies, coached by principal players of the Czech Philharmonic. Netopil has enjoyed a close relationship with the Festival over the years, and was its Artist in Residence in 2017, opening the Festival with the Essener Philharmoniker and closing the Festival with Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Wiener Symphoniker.

Netopil’s discography for Supraphon includes Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass (the first ever recording of the original 1927 version), Dvořák’s complete cello works, Martinů’s Ariane and Double Concerto, and Smetana’s Má Vlast with the FOK-Prague Symphony Orchestra. During his time as General Music Director at the Philharmonie Essen, his releases included recordings of Suk’s “Asrael” Symphony, and Mahler’s Symphonies Nos 2, 3 6 and 9.

Netopil studied violin and conducting in his native Czech Republic, as well as at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under the guidance of Jorma Panula. In 2002, he won the 1^st Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.

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