Erasmus Trio 35 years - 'Piazzolla'

In this anniversary year of the Erasmus Trio, this leading piano trio still sounds as fresh, intense and compelling as ever. Tonight, in this anniversary concert, they perform a festive Piazzolla programme full of Argentine passion, melody and nuance. A sparkling evening celebrating 35 years of top-level musicality. 

Programme notes

What began in 1991 as a dream of pianist Thomas Herrmann grew into one of Europe's leading piano trios. Together with violinist Vera Laporeva and cellist Xiaojia Xu, he has been playing in concert halls across three continents for decades. This anniversary concert focuses on Piazzolla's Four Seasons, along with Bloch and Debussy.

The Erasmus Trio is known as a tight trinity with an impressive sense of melody and nuance. On this festive evening, they celebrate their anniversary in style with music that shimmers and moves.

Programme

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Concert with intermission.

The Erasmus Trio

The Erasmus Trio, founded by pianist Thomas Herrmann, has been one of Europe's leading piano trios for 35 years. The ensemble is named after the cosmopolitan and freethinker Desiderius Erasmus, who - like the trio - was known for his fresh, new ideas. The trio consists of German pianist Thomas Herrmann, Belarusian violinist Vera Laporeva and Chinese cellist Xiaojia Xu. The Erasmus Trio performed in renowned venues in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, South Africa and China, where even national television covered them.

Thomas Herrmann
Thomas Herrmann is a versatile pianist with an international career and numerous national and international awards to his name. He is founder and pianist of the Erasmus Trio and has formed an acclaimed duo with violinist Vera Laporeva for over 25 years. He also gives master classes at home and abroad, is a professor at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and active as a jury member at Jugend Musiziert.

Vera Laporeva
Vera Laporeva is a versatile violinist with an international career as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster. Since 2005, she has been concertmaster of the Metropole Orchestra, with which she has performed with Bono, Herbie Hancock and Jacob Collier, among others. She is also active as guest concertmaster with renowned orchestras in Europe and as a much sought-after session musician. Vera gave master classes, coaches young talent and has been the regular violinist of the Erasmus Trio since 1996. She plays a Carlo Antonio Testore violin from 1751.

Xiaojia Xu
Xiaojia Xu is a versatile cellist. She was born in China and has lived in the Netherlands since 1995. She is active as a performing musician, teacher and entrepreneur and is part of the Erasmus Trio. Besides her work as a soloist and chamber musician, she also explores contemporary music, jazz and folk music, often in surprising combinations. Xiaojia plays an Amsterdam cello from 1720, attributed to P. Rombouts.