The Trio Wanderer fully deserves its stage name. Indeed, “Wanderer” pays homage to Schubert and, more generally, to German Romanticism, often permeated by the leitmotif of the wandering traveler. These three French musicians are passionate, curious and wandering travelers who explore the musical world, spanning the centuries from Mozart and Haydn to the present day. Acclaimed for its extraordinarily sensitive style, the almost telepathic understanding between the members and the technical mastery, the Trio Wanderer is one of the most prestigious chamber ensembles in the world.
The members of the Trio Wanderer are all graduates of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. In 1989/90 they continued their studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington and at the Juilliard School in New York. During this period, they participated in masterclasses with such masters as Jean-Claude Pennetier, Jean Hubeau, Janos Starker, Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Amadeus Quartet. In 1988, the Trio won the ARD Competition in Munich and, in 1990, the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the United States.
Dubbed a “wandering star” by Strad magazine, the Trio has performed on the world’s most prestigious musical stages: the Berlin Philharmonic, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Sydney Opera House, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Sala São Paulo, the Beijing Opera, the Seoul Arts Center, the Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Library of Congress in Washington, the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, the Place des Arts in Montreal, the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels (Palais des Beaux-Arts), the Kioi Hall in Tokyo, the Tonhalle in Zurich and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. They have also performed at major international festivals such as Edinburgh, Bergen, Bath, Montreux, Feldkirch Schubertiades, Schleswig Holstein, Rheingau Musiksommer, Colmar, La Roque d’Anthéron, le Folles Journées de Nantes, Granada, Stresa, Osaka, Salzburg and many others.
They have collaborated on numerous occasions with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Christopher Hogwood, Louis Langrée, Pascal Verrot, James Loughran, Fayçal Karoui, Marco Guidarini, Arie van Beek, Benoît Fromanger, Wilson Hermanto, François-Xavier Roth, Michelangelo Veltri, Ion Marin, José Areán, Charles Dutoit and James Conlon. They have also performed double and triple concerts accompanied by orchestras such as those of Toulouse, Nice, Pau, Montpellier, Picardie, Pays de la Loire, Liège, Iparraldeko, Santiago de Chile, La Coruña, Tenerife, the Les Siècles Orchestra, the Orchestre National and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Malaysian Philharmonia, the National Philharmonic of Russia, the Württembergische Philharmonie, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne, the Stockholm Chamber Orchestra and many others.
After producing two CDs for Sony Classical, in 1999 Trio Wanderer began a collaboration with Harmonia Mundi. Since then, they have released over twenty recordings, including trios by Chausson, Ravel, Haydn, Shostakovich, Copland, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn, Smetana, the complete piano trios of Schubert and Brahms, Schubert’s Trout Quintet, Hummel’s Quintet, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto conducted by James Conlon, works by Liszt and Messiaen, trios by Dvořák, Rachmaninoff, Fauré, Pierné, Arensky, Tchaikovsky, the complete Beethoven piano trios in 2012, Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet and Romances Op. 127 for trio and voice with the famous mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk, up to the complete Schumann piano trios, quintet and quartet in 2021. The latest recording, dedicated to the chamber music of Franck and Vierne, was released in May 2023.
With a strong interest in contemporary music, Trio Wanderer has premiered several works by Thierry Escaich (Lettres Mêlées, 2004), Bruno Mantovani (Huits Moments Musicaux, 2008), Frank Michael Beyer (Lichtspuren, 2008), Matteo Francescini (Triple Concerto ‘Ego’, 2011), Philippe Hersant (Chant de l’Isolé for trio, percussion and string orchestra, 2014), Christian Rivet (Courant d’Étoile, 2023) and Laurent Petitgirard (La Croisée des Arts, 2024). This commitment has materialized in recordings published by Universal Accord (works by Thierry Escaich) and Mirare (Mantovani, published in 2012).
Their recordings have received numerous awards, including Choc du Monde de la Musique, Fanfare’s Want List, Gramophone’s Critic’s Choice and Editor’s Choice, BBC Music Magazine’s CD of the Month, Fono Forum’s CD of the Month, the Diapason d’Or of the Year and the Midem International Classical Music Award.
The New York Times called their performance of Mendelssohn’s piano trios a new benchmark. Their recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet and Hummel’s Quintet were listed in the Top 100 Quality Music Library by Forbes. In 2016, their performance of Schubert’s Piano Trio op. 100 was chosen as the best of 14 versions by BBC3 in its Building a Library – CD Review programme.
In addition to numerous radio and television recordings (Radio France, BBC, ARD, Mezzo), the Franco-German broadcaster ARTE broadcast a documentary dedicated to the Trio Wanderer in June 2003.
Recognized by the professional music world, the Trio Wanderer has won the Victoire de la Musique award for Best Instrumental Ensemble of the Year three times (in 1997, 2000 and 2009). In 2017, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, a book by Olivier Bellamy on the history of the Trio was published by Art3 Edition.
In 2014, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian and Raphaël Pidoux were appointed professors of violin and cello, respectively, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. Vincent Coq has been professor of chamber music at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne since 2010. All three give masterclasses internationally and are jury members at international music competitions (ARD Munich, Vienna, Lyon, Osaka, Graz, Vercelli and others).
Each member of the Trio Wanderer has been awarded the title of Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres.
Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian plays a violin by Gand Père (Paris, 1840, loaned by Mr. Nicolas Dufourcq). Raphaël Pidoux plays a cello by Gioffredo Cappa (Saluzzo, 1680).
