Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch
violin, cello & piano
Thursday 19th March 2026
7.30pm Morpeth Methodist Church
Programme (on occasion, the artists may make minor changes to the published programme)
Mozart Piano Trio in E major K.542
Smetana Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15 JB 1:64
Lili Boulanger Deux Morceaux - Nocturne & Cortege
Shostakovich Piano Trio in E minor Op. 67 No 2
Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch is made up of Hagai Shaham - violin, Arnon Erez - piano and Raphael Wallfisch - cello. All three musicians have flourishing solo and chamber music careers as well as their work with the trio. The trio has recently released a recording of all of Beethoven's works for piano trio as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. MMS is delighted to welcome the trio to Morpeth - their first planned visit was postponed by the Covid pandemic.
The programme for Morpeth will open with a late trio by Mozart, followed by the darkly contrasting Smetana, composed in memory of his young daughter. The second half will open with the prodigiously talented Lili Boulanger's Deux Morceaux for violin and piano. the final work in this programme will be Shostakovich's powerful trio written during World War Two and commemorating the death of a dear friend. The last movement the 'Dance of Death' is noted for its Jewish themes.
'This fine trio plays with purpose and clarity...' BBC Music Magazine
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More about the Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch from their website:
Full blooded music making from a streamlined ensemble the arts desk
”…they never get in the music’s way. It flows out of them unimpeded, as if balancing a piano trio were the easiest thing in the world, which goodness knows it is not… These performers evoke musical values that today are beginning to seem “old school” yet are as sterling solid as ever. Erez is the most self-effacing of virtuosi, delivering glitter and dazzle… his tone always singing and translucent. Shaham’s sound recalls the great violinists of the mid-20th century: rich and gorgeous, yet never sugary, his use of portamenti judiciously applied. Wallfisch’s cello seems virtually an extension of himself as he blends into vivid musical conversations or briefly takes centre stage to bowl out the big tunes… Notable qualities that leapt out of this performance included the choice of contrasting palettes… Erez’s piano tone turned utterly luminous, as if by magic.”
Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch was founded in 2009 and comprises three of the finest international instrumentalists performing today.
Since its formation, the Trio has been invited numerous times to prestigious chamber music series at venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Rotterdam De Doellen, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. The trio often appears in Spain, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel and Canada. This outstanding trio has been invited by the Wigmore hall to present the complete Beethoven piano trios in 2020, the composer’s 250th anniversary.
The Shaham Erez Wallfisch trio has an exclusive contract with Nimbus Record. Releases to date include Mendelssohn trios, Ravel Debussy and Faure, Arenski, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov, 2 cds album of Brahms trios and Double concerto and Dvorak, Schumann and Grieg trio, and Dvorak F minor trio. The eagerly awaited complete Beethoven trio cycle is released on Nimbus in March 2025!
Highly acclaimed for his sensitivity, virtuosity and profound musical interpretation, Arnon Erez has gained a worldwide reputation as an outstanding pianist.
He has performed in numerous major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in NY, Beethoven Halle in Bonn, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Herkulessaal in Munich, Musikverein in Vienna, The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the New Auditorium du Louvre in Paris and London's Wigmore Hall. Arnon Erez has appeared in major festivals around the world, and as a soloist he has performed with various orchestras including Israel Philharmonic. In addition, he has given many recitals and recorded for radio and television stations in Germany, Austria, France, Holland, Israel, Turkey, China, Mexico and Brazil.
His discography has won much praise and a BBC Music Magazine Choice. It includes: Piano Trios by: Mendelssohn, Ravel, Faure, Rachmaninov, Arenski and Shostakovich. Violin and Piano Duets by: Grieg, Bloch, Debussy, Janacek, Dohnanyi, Hubay, Weiner, Achron, Bruno Walter, Hanns Eisler, Pizzetti, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and the Brahms-Joachim Hungarian dances. The Complete Cello and Piano Sonatas by Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
He studied with Mrs. Hana Shalgi, Prof. Michael Boguslavski and Prof. Arie Vardi, graduating from Tel Aviv University, and later took an advanced course in chamber music with the Guarneri Quartet in the U.S.A.
Currently, Erez is a professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University and heads the Chamber Music Department.
Hailed for his thrilling virtuosity, lustrous tone and profound artistic expression, Hagai Shaham is internationally recognized as one of the most exciting Israeli violinists. Shaham was a student of the renowned Professor Ilona Feher. He continued his studies with Emanuel Borok, Arnold Steinhardt and the Guarneri Quartet.
Shaham's awards include first prizes at the ARD Munich Competition, Ilona Kornhauser competition, Israel Broadcasting Authority Competition, Clairmont and America-Israel Cultural Foundation's Awards.
As a soloist he performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, English Chamber, SWF and Rheinische Phil, Prague Philharmonic and Radio orchestras, Slovak and Belgrade philharmonics, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Singapore and KBS Seoul Symphony, Sao Paulo, Jerusalem and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. He performed with Israel Philharmonic as a soloist together with Misha Maiski and Mehta at the orchestra’s 70th anniversary celebrations.
Mr. Shaham has performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Paris Théâtre des Champs Elysées and Pleyel, Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna Musikverein, Zurich Tonhalle. Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Schleswig-Holstein, Reingau, Bad Kissingen, Bodensee, Montpellier, Cerventino, Kuhmo, Casals and Israel Festivals.
Hagai Shaham recorded 30 albums for Hyperion, Nimbus, Avie, Chandos, EMI, Naxos and Decca which have been enthusiastically received by international press.
Mr. Shaham is a member of the Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch trio, which performed on major stages in Europe, N. America and Israel. The trio records for Nimbus Recordings (UK).
Hagai Shaham is a professor at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, and an Artist in Residence at Stony Brook University, New York. Together with violinist Ittai Shapira, he is a co-founder of the Ilona Feher Foundation for promoting young Israeli violinists.
One of the most celebrated cellists performing on the international stage, Wallfisch was born in London into a family of distinguished musicians, his mother the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and his father the pianist Peter Wallfisch.
He is regularly invited to play at major festivals such as the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Spoleto, Prades, Oslo and Schleswig Holstein. He is also frequently invited to be a jury member of international competitions such as the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris, the Schoenfeld in China and the Enescu in Romania.
Teaching is one of Raphael’s passions. He is in demand as a teacher all over the world and holds the position of professor of cello in Switzerland at the Zürich Hochschule der Kunst.
Raphael has recorded nearly every major work for his instrument. His extensive discography on EMI, Chandos, Black Box, ASV, Naxos and Nimbus explores both the mainstream concerto repertoire and countless lesser-known works by Dohnanyi, Respighi, Barber, Hindemith and Martinu, as well as Richard Strauss, Dvorak, Kabalevsky and Khachaturian. He has recorded a wide range of British cello concertos, including works by MacMillan, Finzi, Delius, Bax, Bliss, Britten, Moeran and Kenneth Leighton. For the Chandos Walton Edition he was privileged to record the composer’s Cello Concerto, originally written for his master, Piatigorsky.
Britain’s leading composers have worked closely with Raphael, many having written works especially for him. These include Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, James MacMillan, John Metcalf, Paul Patterson, Robert Simpson, Robert Saxton, Roger Smalley, Giles Swayne, John Tavener and Adrian Williams.
Alongside his solo career, Raphael has a long-standing and distinguished duo with pianist John York. With a rich history of many international recital tours and numerous recordings, the duo celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2017 and look forward to future collaboration in 2018. Raphael also greatly enjoys touring with his very successful piano trio – Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch – which he and his colleagues Hagai Shaham (violin) and Arnon Erez (piano) founded in 2009. Four recordings have been released so far, each receiving the highest critical acclaim.
Raphael plays a 1760 Gennaro Gagliano, the 1733 Montagnana “Ex-Romberg” and an exquisite modern cello built for Raphael by Patrick Robin.
He lives in London with his wife, the violinist Elizabeth, and has three children, Benjamin, Simon, and Joanna.
