Metamorphoses is a new trio (clarinet/viola/piano) made up of world class musicians from the US, the Netherlands and Russia. The trio members have established themselves individually as soloists and chamber musicians in the world’s most prestigious concert halls.

For their debut CD, Metamorphoses presents a varied, cosmopolitan programme consisting of repertoire from five different countries. Once upon a time… is a cross-pollination of a wide range of sounds, colours and music styles – just as the group itself is an inspiring exchange between musicians from three different countries and cultures. A musical statement of mutual understanding, behind which we stand wholeheartedly, especially in these times of uncertainty and division in the world.

Mozart’s beautiful Kegelstatt Trio is one of the earliest existing works for the unusual combination of clarinet, viola and piano. Robert Schumann, the composer of Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) was inspired by Mozart’s work. In these relatively seldom played works, both composers explore the beautiful combination of timbres of the clarinet and the viola, instruments which share a similar range of pitches. Leo Smit was a Dutch Jew who sadly was murdered in 1943 in the concentration camp Sobibor. Smit, who lived for some years in Paris, had a strong affinity with the French music of his time, and that influence is clearly audible in his Trio. From France one can’t leave out the devishly difficult and therefore rarely performed Trio of Jean Françaix.

American-born clarinettist Jean Johnson is an international chamber musician and has played in some of the world’s finest venues, notably the Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts; her musical partnership with pianist Steven Osborne has received enthusiastic critical acclaim. Violist Roeland Jagers is a passionate chamber musician and was a founding member of the Rubens Quartet, laureate of several international competitions. llona Timchenko has won over twenty international prizes. Her first CD on Landor was selected for one of the inaugural ‘Outstanding’ accolades in International Record Review, as well as highly acclaimed in Gramophone magazine.