GRYPHON TRIO
PIANO TRIO
GALLERY | BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | CONCERTO | DISCOGRAPHY | LINKS
GALLERY
Photography Shin Sugino, Toronto (Studio images); Kazuk Ishikura (Performing); John Beebe, Toronto
Click each image to download
BIOGRAPHY
Annalee Patipatanakoon, violin
Roman Borys, cello
Jamie Parker, piano
Recently, a simple yet poignant question was posed and answered immediately in a prominent Canadian newspaper. The question: “Is there a better chamber ensemble in Canada than the Gryphon Trio? There is not.” Pianist Jamie Parker, violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, and cellist Roman Borys together form the masterful, internationally acclaimed Gryphon Trio.
Toronto based, the Gryphon Trio is well known to audiences around the globe. As nominees of the 2009 JUNO awards, the Trio has traveled from Canada to Russia, United States to Egypt, Belgium to Scandinavia and major European centres in between. ‘Canada’s national treasure’ is always in demand. The trio has dazzled audiences with memorable performances. In addition to the recital performances, their initiatives like the groundbreaking multimedia production of Christos Hatzis’s Constantinople or the Colour…for the End of Time – Messiaen & Synesthesia or their Music that Speaks to You, co- produced by Music Toronto, all represent the scope of their artistic offerings.
The trio’s formidable talents have been showcased on their numerous recordings for the Analekta label. The Gryphon’s ‘Canadian Premieres’ CD was the 2004 JUNO winner. A recent release, ‘Mozart's Complete Works for Piano Trio’, was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as "a new front runner for the title of Best Trios Set.” This spring saw their eleventh title, ‘Tango Nuevo’, a recording of music by Piazzolla, Ginastera and Duran and will be followed by the release of their second complete Beethoven CD in the fall of 2009.
The Trio’s live performances and recordings have been broadcast extensively on CBC and around the globe on NPR (USA), Radio France, RTBF (Belgium), Radio Bremen, Hessischer Rundfunk (Germany) and Finnish Radio. A testament to their appeal to international audiences, the Gryphon Trio has appeared on Canadian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian and French television networks. As communicators and educators, the Trio continues to be actively involved in teaching and nurturing the next generation of both classical musicians and audiences. All three members teach at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music where Jamie Parker is the Rupert E Edwards Chair in Piano Performance.
Is it any wonder that The Globe and Mail raved that the Gryphon Trio “is one of the best ensembles of its kind in the world?”Another question easily answered.
(as of October 2009)
REVIEWS
“The evening’s highlight came as the Gryphons…dug into the Mendelssohn trio with full-blooded gusto, carrying us off in wave after wave of Romantic emotion. It was musicmaking at its most communicative.”
-TORONTO STAR
"This is a piano trio that plays with strength and unanimity...big, bold, almost orchestral performances."
- THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
“As playing per se, this is exquisite. I don’t just mean technically, though the ensemble and tonal control can be almost breathtaking. Both performances bring out the kind of delicacy and sensuous beauty that’s often overlooked in Beethoven.” [Beethoven Trio: Analekta CD]
- BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
"Not only extra-ordinary instrumentalists but they have also mastered the art of ensemble playing"
- WESER KURIER, Germany
"The Gryphon Trio show themselves to be well up for the task, once again affirming their status as one of Canada’s premiere ensembles." [Mendelssohn / Lalo Trio: Analekta CD]
- WHOLENOTE Magazine
"The Gryphon's musical conversations are animated and charming...it has character and detail to spare, and elegance is no small accomplishment."
- THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Toronto
“…dynamics of unusual depth and variety…”
- THE WASHINGTON POST
“This is where an outstanding group such as the Gryphon Trio really comes into its own. Unshackled from the interpretative constraints of the nineteenth-century rhetorical tradition (as few twentieth-century artists were), they play with a compelling directness, spontaneity and free-flowing expressivity that has Beethoven’s muse emerging with the insatiable vitality of a young man flexing his creative muscles in public for the first time.” [ Beethoven Trio: Analekta CD]
- INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW
“Cet excellent Trio canadien, don’t la violoniste, Annalee Patipatanakoon, fut laureate de notre CMIREB, confirme par ce troisieme CD les qualities de raffinement sonore et d’élegance de style qui en font l’une des toutes premiéres formations actuelles dans ce domaine. [Mendelssohn/ Lalo Trio: Analekta CD]
- CRESCENDO MAGAZINE, Belgium
A more popular combination of piano trio repertory than this would be hard to contemplate, but these accomplished accounts by Canada’s Gryphon Trio are worthy competitors in the field…played with musical insight, technical accomplishment and passionate commitment.”
- THE STRAD Magazine
PREFERRED CONCERTO LIST
2010-2011
Beethoven Triple Concerto
John Estacio* Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello
Ron Royer* Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello and Piano
Jeffrey Ryan* Equilateral – Piano Trio Concerto
* Canadian Composer
Recital repertoire available upon request
Master classes and workshops available
Other concerti available upon request
DISCOGRAPHY
Beethoven: Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 2; Piano Trio Op. 97 "Archduke" Analekta AN 2 9858
Tango Nuevo: Piazzolla, Durán, Ginastera Analekta AN 2 9857
Schubert: Complete Piano Trios Analekta AN 2 9855-6
Christos Hatzis’ Constantinople Analekta AN 2 9925
Shostakovich: Piano Trios 1&2 Analekta AN 2 9854
W.A. Mozart: Piano Trios Analekta AN 2 9827-8
Dvorak and Mendelssohn: Piano Trios Analekta FL 2 3110
Haydn: Four Piano Trios Analekta FL 2 3104
Mendelssohn and Lalo: Piano Trios Analekta FL 2 3127
Beethoven: Op. 1, Nos. 1 & 3 Analekta FL 2 3170
Canadian Premieres: Murphy, Chan Hatzis, Kulesha* Analekta FL 2 3174
* Canadian Composer
LINKS
Artist Website
www.gryphontrio.com
Recording Label
www.analekta.com
ACADEMIC AFFILIATION
University of Toronto Faculty of Music
www.music.utoronto.ca
www.music.utoronto.ca/faculty
INSTRUMENTALISTS
Piano
Lucille Chung*
Jane Coop
Michael Kim
James Parker
Wonny Song*
Piano Duo
Anagnoson & Kinton
Violin
Martin Beaver
Alexandre Da Costa*
Erika Raum
Cello
Kaori Yamagami
Bassoon
Nadina Mackie Jackson*
ENSEMBLES
Piano Trio
Gryphon Trio
Trumpet & Bassoon Duo
guy&nadina*
Violin & Piano Duo
Da Costa & Song*
NARRATOR
Colin Fox
WORLD MUSIC
Indian Ghazals & Punjabi Folk Songs
Kiran Ahluwalia*
Cuban Music Ensemble
Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet*
SPECIAL PROJECT
Music-as-Theatre
The Schumann Letters*
*First AKAM Season