“Schubert is far more even-handed in his Piano Trio in B flat major, with players sharing equal prominence in his stormy, passionate four-movement epic. For all the brilliance of the quicksilver scherzo and quirky country dance-like rondo, it was the songlike melody in the andante, swapped so dreamily between cello and violin, that will linger longest in the memory.”
*****
Stephen Pritchard, The Observer, November 2023; Concert Review of The Sitkovetsky Trio at Bath Mozartfest
Read More“Few could fail to be moved by the Sitkovetsky Trio’s tenderness and concentrated intensity, here and elsewhere. For poetry, colouristic imagination and, not least, an infectious sense of shared enjoyment, these performances can hold their own against any rivals.”
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone, November 2023 (Album Review of Beethoven: Piano Trios Vol. 2)
Read More“The Sitkovetsky Trio were in Hong Kong to perform in a chamber music setting and then as soloists with a full orchestra – and the abundance of joy in their playing was clear in both concerts. Russian violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and German-Korean cellist Isang Enders are so at one that their tasteful vibrato often seems to be in complete sync. They and the third member of the trio, Chinese pianist Wu Qian, produced a sound of ethereal beauty. Sitkovetsky and Enders tackled with relish their roles as soloists with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of principal guest conductor Christoph Poppen. All three members did not tinker with the fine delicacy of articulation that is a hallmark of their work, Wu’s tonal shading and dexterity were top-notch.”
South China Morning Post (Christopher Halls), November 2019
Read More“The Sitkovetsky Trio play not just in three individual parts but, more importantly, in three dimensions... Architectural shape and overriding purpose prevailed, the very last notes being delivered with as much edge-of-the-seat importance as the first. This was the real deal. [Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1, Op.49]”
–The Australian, 2017
Read More“These three artists – all in their early 30s – have fused rapidly into an exemplary piano trio, working through a demanding program with excellent fluency and solid collegiality of attack, phrase-shaping and insight.”
–Sydney Morning Herald, 2017
Read More“The first half’s melodramatic serving of tragedy and visceral protest, Russian-style, was a stunner. There were no boring drifts. No throwaway segments in which thoughts can wander and dreams unfold. The Sitkovetsky don’t let their listeners off the hook. And their zest for high drama resonates in unusually prolonged endings... Deeply rewarding, the recital brimmed with infectious sincerity, wild energy and impressive unity.”
–Limelight Magazine, 2017
Read More“Wu Qian’s playing was full of colour and power – she isn’t afraid to stand out boldly when the music calls for it. I haven’t heard a better performance of this work [Shostakovich Piano Trio No.2]”
–Adelaide Now, 2017
Read More“The Trio Sitkovetsky’s playing displays colour, liveliness and a strong feel for Mendelssohn’s voice. It has all the ‘fire and vivacity, the flow in a word the mastery’ that Ferdinand Hiller described after hearing the premiere in 1840. Wu Qian dazzles but never blinds and her seemingly easy-virtuosity is well matched by violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky. There is always the sense of three individuals listening to one another to create a satisfying whole.”
–BBC Music Magazine (4 stars) (CD Recording BIS Records: MENDELSSOHN Piano Trios), 2015
Read More“The pianist in the Andante [of the D minor Trio] sets up a good tempo, with an apt balance between eloquence and simplicity. In the C minor Trio, they dispatch the scherzo with great spirit and are particularly compelling in the finale, with a palpable sense of elation at the switch to the major in the closing minutes.”
–Gramophone, 2015
Read More“Secret weapon of the UK based Piano Trio is called Wu Qian. Under the hands of this Chinese pianist the Steinway turns into an X-ray device that displays each and every grain.”
–Volkskrant, 2015
Read More“These are three instrumentalists at the top of their game, who blend well and play with a sense of shared purpose. Tempi, phrasing and dynamics all seem comfortable and right and couldn't be bettered.”
–Music Web International, 2015
Read More“One of Mendelssohn’s own watercolours of the Amalfi coast is on the cover of the Sitkovetsky Trio’s recording, all honeyed village walls and turquoise sea; a similar sense of heat and spaciousness comes across in their performance of his two piano trios […] The slow movement of No 1 is full of long phrases and sweet violin tone, and the finale rounds things off with a fine balance of breadth and playfulness.”
–The Guardian (4 stars), 2015
Read More“The dexterous Sitkovetsky Trio niftily invert Mendelssohn’s two piano trios in this effervescent recording…one of the joys of this spirited recording is the piano playing of Wu Qian, whose liquid runs and singing melodies do not “show off”…but balance perfectly with the violin and cello in this triangle.”
–The Independent on Sunday (4 stars), 2015
Read More“This new recording certainly caught my attention…the drama and excitement instilled into the outer movements really gave these works an added depth… An interesting journey this: one that started with curiosity and reservation, but soon led to revelation. I won’t say “finished” because as I write these concluding words, I am listening to the Sitkovetsky’s playing the scherzo and finale of the first trio, and their thrilling ride is giving me goosebumps.”
–Double Recording of the Month Music Web International, 2015
Read More“The tasteful and elegant drama of the outer movements (of both trios), the elfin dancing Scherzos, the wonderfully rounded Andantes, the whims and fancies, the shimmering, buzzing, uncommonly virtuosic interplay develops its own gravitational pull - and the simultaneous careful treatment of the notes was not about control or "monitoring", but rather added aesthetic value.”
–Klassik Heute, 2015
Read More“This trio is captured in full flight at a Wigmore Hall concert, with scintillating playing with which it is hard to take issue… The players turn in a neat performance of Schubert’s Second Piano Trio, its brilliance streaked by moments of darkness and its formal cohesion contrasted with nicely characterised dances, whether elegant or rustic. There’s no let-up in energy in the finale, which bursts with liveliness. These are fine, crystalline performances of which the audience is audibly – and understandably – appreciative.”
–The Strad (CD Recording Wigmore Live: BRAHMS Piano Trio in C minor Op 101, Schubert Piano Trio in E flat major D929), 2015
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