Prisma’s Programs 2021-2022

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NEW: La Muse

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Two very different French pieces in our repertoire are very dear to us: The brilliant trio of Florent Schmitt and the charming and moving Suite of miniatures La Muse ménagère or The household Muse, by Darius MilhaudWe are in the midst of recording them for our next album, called 'La Muse’, to be released in the spring of 2021.

🇬🇧Read more about this program



With Folke Nauta, piano and Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer, clarinet

We are working on a large project around the fascinating figure Paul Wittgenstein, the Vienese pianist that lost his right arm in the First World War. The first program in this project will be Wien bleibt Wien, with works of Mozart, Strauss (Richard ánd Johann) and the intense, highly romantic and undeservedly neglected quintets of Franz Schmidt for piano lefthanded, clarinet and string trio. In this program we focus on the musical life in Vienna by the end of the nineteenth century.

🇬🇧Continue to read about The Wittgenstein Project in English at www.wittgensteinproject.com





"Among the child's gifts I observe above all the most fruitful an artist can possess, that of curiosity: you must not stifle these precious gifts now or ever, or risk letting this young sensibility witherentrusted Maurice Ravel young Jean Françaix's parents.

Music by fearless composers looking for something new; Merula, Sweelinck, Beethoven, Cras en Françaix






Writer A. L. Snijders and the ensemble 'remix’ music and spoken word. Short stories of the author engage in dialogue with piano quartets of Mozart and Mahler, pianomusic of Frederico Mompou and the recent string trio by Albert van Veenendaal. The writer makes a choice from his vast repertoire of Very Short Stories. Inspired by the music he wrote four new stories for this special project.





Other programs & repertoirelist (in Dutch)

Press clips:

“By a lucky coincidence I heard Prisma String Trio play the same Beethoven trio twice in a row. Twice the music invented itself while playing (secret of true music making), twice it was right on target” (Elmer Schönberger, music publicist and composer).

"The Prisma Trio convinces with a full sound and swinging rhythms. (…) The Prisma Trio is an excellent tour guide, also for the inexperienced listener who is interested in an adventure across the border." (Luister, classical music magazine)

Biography

Prisma covers 7 centuries of string trio music. Virtuoso, passionate and stylish, Prisma combines the tightness of a string quartet with the flair of three esteemed musicians who effortlessly find each other.

Since its founding in 2002, Prisma has met with great enthusiasm among a wide audience. The trio can be heard on countless stages such as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, De Doelen, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. They toured in France and played in festivals like Grachtenfestival and November Music and on radio and TV.

Prisma programs inventively and searches its own way. Firmly anchored in the classical string playing tradition the trio performs music from all over the world and from all times; old and new music sound next to each other as if it was meant this way. Quality, inspiration and contact with their audience come first. The trio members like to introduce the works with a short story that appeals to both the experienced and the less informed listener.

Prisma highlights unknown or neglected jewels from the string trio repertoire, as - recently - the phenomenal Trio à cordes by Florent-Schmitt that has been undeservedly forgotten since it was written. In addition, Prisma makes arrangements and often presents 'unexpected little gifts’ in the middle of a concert; these musical miniatures give even more color to the programme.

The trio regularly performs with guests, such as writer A.L. Snijders, pianist Riko Fukuda, clarinettist Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer and pianola player Max “Weltemax” Lakeman. Every two years the trio performs a highly praised programme of new music with the Hollands Vocaal Ensemble Amsterdam.

In the 18 years of its existence, the trio has built an excellent reputation in terms of community participation. It develops interactive projects such as À la Carte, Casino Royale, Bow & Brush, Intimate Letters and the Graphic Score Project, based on the conviction that easy acces and high-quality music can really go together. In Splendor Amsterdam, Prisma presents its own series of 'Test Tube Concerts', in which the trio literally engages in conversation with its audience.

The Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina was extremely enthusiastic about Prisma's interpretation of her string trio. Her response encourages Prisma to actively engage in contemporary music and to ask contemporary composers to write for them. With support of the Performing Arts Fund, Gaudeamus and the John Kasander Foundation, works were created by Arnold Marinissen, Albert van Veenendaal, Steven Kamperman, Gerard Beljon and Morris Kliphuis. Prisma is currently touring The Netherlands with 'Textures', a project by audio-visual artist Merijn Bisschops.

TV and Radio reported extensively on the release of Prisma's first CD "Voyage" in 2013. It was awarded an honorable 10 out of 10 in the leading Dutch music magazine Luister. On the tracklist are works ranging from 1500 to 2013.

Watch Prisma in an item about Voyage: VPRO Vrije Geluiden


🇬🇧The English site is under construction. Many links refer to pages in Dutch. We apologize for the inconvenience. Would you like more information please contact us via mail or telephone: contact


Contact       © Michiel Weidner 2021