This new CD presents selected chamber works of Ernest Chausson and Eugene Ysaye, for violin, cello and piano. Performed by Bruno Monteiro (violin), Miguel Rocha (cello) and Joao Paulo Santos (piano), the programme consists of Chausson's Piano Trio in G Minor (Op 3) and Ysaye's Poeme Elegiaque (Op 12) and Medetation-Poeme (Op 16).
"If you fancy a heart-on-sleeve […] performance of an 'unsung' piano trio then this is one to put on and just turn up the volume." - MusicWeb International
Bruno Monteiro is heralded by the daily Publico as "one of Portugal´s premier violinists". Fanfare describes him as having a "burnished golden tone" and Pizzicato states that his performances are "technically and expressively outstanding". The Strad characterizes his playing as "ardent and heroic" and MusicWeb International refers to interpretations that reach an "almost ideal balance between the expressive and the intellectual". He leads an intense concert career as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician, having performed in all the major musical centers of Portugal, with repertoire spanning composers from Bach to Corigliano.
Miguel Rocha began his studies at the Conservatory of Porto with Isabel Delerue. In 1983, he worked abroad with M. Strauss (Paris), Vectomov (Prague), Iankovic (Maastricht), Aldulescu, Pergamenchikov (Basel) and Fallot (Lausanne). Rocha obtained several degrees with the highest classification, including the First Prize for Virtuosity from the Haute École de Musique, Lausanne, and the First Prize of the International Music Competition, UFAM. He has given concerts in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. Miguel Rocha is currently Professor Coordenador at ESART and a member of Duo Contracello, Duo Sigma, Avondano Ensemble and Tesseract Ensemble.
Born in Lisbon in 1959, the pianist Joao Paulo Santos is a graduate of the Lisbon National Conservatory. With sponsorship from the Gulbenkian Foundation, he completed his piano studies in Paris with Aldo Ciccolini (1979 – 84). For the past four decades, he has been associated with Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos (the Lisbon Opera House), first as Principal Chorus Conductor and now as Director of Musical and Stage Studies. As a pianist, he performs as a soloist, in chamber groups, with major singers and in duo, both with the violinist Bruno Monteiro and the cellist Irene Lima. He joined Trio Aeternus in 2019.
