The Phoenix Piano Trio
Jonathan Stone - violin
Christian Elliott - cello
Sholto Kynoch - piano
The Phoenix Piano Trio is established as one of today’s leading ensembles, bringing together three renowned players and praised for a ‘musical narrative of tremendous, involving depth’.
Their highly successful debut season in 2011 included over twenty concerts across the UK as part of their “Beyond Beethoven” cycle, performing all of Beethoven’s works for Piano Trio. They have performed on several occasions at London’s Wigmore Hall and other recent highlights have included performances at the Ryedale Festival, the Happy Days Festival in Eniskillen, the Leicester International Music Festival, and the London Chamber Music Society at Kings Place. They are also advocates of new music, so far having commissioned new works by five British composers: Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Edwin Roxburgh, Philip Venables, James Young and James Weeks.
They have recently recorded Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s The Forgiveness Machine for the Champs Hill label, and will be releasing discs of Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms trios later this year as well as recording Philip Venables’ Klaviertrio im Geiste for NMC. In the 2016/17 season they will appear in a series of concerts with soprano Joan Rodgers, performing Shostakovich’s 7 Romances on verses by Alexander Blok at the new ‘Songmakers’ Festival in Sheffield and the Kempe Studio in Stratford upon Avon. They also return to Kings Place, and give concerts in the International Piano Series at SJE Arts in Oxford, the British Music Society in York and various other festivals and concert halls.
Violinist Jonathan Stone is an internationally acclaimed chamber musician, soloist, concertmaster and director. Jonathan was a member of the Doric String Quartet for 13 years, with whom he recorded 16 discs for Chandos Records. His final concerts with the ensemble at the Aldeburgh Festival were 2nd in the Observer’s list of the top 10 classical music performances of 2018. Jonathan is dedicated to the art of period performance and regularly guest leads the French orchestra Le Circle de l’Harmonie.
Christian Elliott is a member of the Zehetmair Quartet, which performs string quartets written as late as the mid-20th century from memory at venues throughout Europe. He has recently been appointed Principal Cellist of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and is a frequent guest principal cellist with many UK orchestras. He is also a composer whose works have been performed at venues in Europe, North America, and the UK, including the Wigmore Hall.
Sholto Kynoch is a sought-after pianist who specialises in chamber music and song accompaniment. In addition to a busy performance schedule and a fast-growing discography, he is the founder and Artistic Director of the Oxford Lieder Festival. He has given numerous recitals at Wigmore Hall, and in recent years has appeared at the Berliner Konzerthaus, the Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore, the Opéra de Lille, St John’s Smith Square, Bridgewater Hall, Kings Place, the Purcell Room and many other venues and Festivals around the UK and in Colombia, Sweden, Romania and Austria.
