This chamber concert at the National Forum of Music features the Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio – an ensemble of distinguished instrumentalists – violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk. The musicians will present piano trios by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, as well as a work written by a contemporary composer – Wolfgang Rihm – and referred to as an “essay”.

The meeting of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms in October 1853 is an important event in the biographies of both composers. During one of the private recitals of a young Brahms, who was presenting his piano works, Schumann immediately saw him as a genius, announcing it to the world in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. The friendship between the artists had an impact also on their work – at that time they composed pieces of the same genres, includingchamber music. Even though their output in the field of piano trios was small, they created models of this type of works, recognized to this day.

The Piano trio in D minor op. 63 by Schumann was written in 1847 as the first in a collection of three trios. Its expressiveness and the Romantic idiom undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of the piece, which today is included in the core repertoire of chamber music. Composed at the beginning of 1854, the Piano Trio I in B flat major op. 8 by Johannes Brahms was of particular importance to him as a composer of chamber music – it markeda symbolic turning point that began his intensely developing career. At the end of his life, Brahms returned to this work, introducing modifications that gave it a new quality. The piece is therefore a certain frame to the life and work of the composer, who was already considered one of the greatest in history at that time. The impressive cycle by Wolfgang Rihm Fremde Szenen I – III, created in 1982–1984 and intended for violin, cello and piano, is an example of a work well-entrenched in the history of new music. Importantly, it is also a personal declaration of praise for Robert Schumann.