Schumann Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80

This is Schumann Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80, 1st Movement: Sehr lebhaft

www.theleetrio.com

The Lee Trio's ’s “gripping immediacy and freshness” and “rich palette of tone colours”[The Strad] continue to inspire and move audiences and critics around the world, establishing the dynamic ensemble made of up of sisters and native San Franciscans—Angela, cello; Lisa, violin; and Melinda, piano—as one of the premier chamber ensembles on the international stage.

Winners of numerous competitions and graduates from such prestigious institutions as Juilliard, Yale, Curtis and Harvard, each member of the Trio is a brilliant soloist in her own right. The Lee Trio won top awards in 2004 at the Gaetano Zinetti and Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competitions in Italy and Finland, and since its professional debut at Wigmore Hall in 2002, the ensemble has regularly performed on both sides of the Atlantic, including London's Purcell Room, Bern, Hannover, Detmold, Berlin, New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco. The Trio received the California State Assembly Recognition for Exemplary Service to the Community in 2006 and was named a recipient of the 2007 Gotthard-Schierse Stiftung, a performing grant and stipend for rising artists, based in Berlin.

In recent seasons, The Lee Trio gave debut recitals at the Mendelssohn Festival and Bachfest in Leipzig, Germany and at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, performed in Italy under the auspices of Luoghi Di Confine, and completed its first China tour, giving recitals and master classes in Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Shanghai and performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Macao Youth Symphony, Shenzhen Symphony and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestras. Other appearances have included recitals at The Scandinavia House in New York City, Gorham's Bluff Institute in Alabama, the Philharmonie in Berlin, Schumann-Haus in Leipzig, Kloisters in Plankstetten and the Franckeschen Stiftungen Konzertsaal in Halle, Germany, and Villa Boveri in Baden, Switzerland. The Trio's return tour to China in 2007 included recitals at the Zhongshan Culture and Art Center, Hong Kong's City Hall Theatre and Lee Hysan Concert Hall, recordings for RTHK4 and a guest appearance on the televised program, Music of Friends. In connection with their Canadian debut at Toronto's Markham Theatre, the Lees were featured on Rogers Television's daytime York Region and Asian Inspiration. In addition to performing, The Lee Trio is passionate about the next generation of musicians and has served as Associate Chamber Music Faculty at the 2007 Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Courmayeur, Italy, and taught in master classes at various institutions including Chinese University and Hong Kong Baptist College.

As an affiliate ensemble of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, The Lee Trio is in the process of commissioning a multi-movement work by American composer Nathaniel Stookey to be premiered in the coming year. The 2008-2009 season will include recitals in the United States and tours to Denmark and South Africa.