Most chamber groups are formed by the members themselves.
But the Lincoln Trio, which has performed at Ravinia Festival and Carnegie’s Weil Hall, was put together 20 years ago by Frank Little, president of the Music Center of the Northshore (now the Music Institute of Chicago).
Little called violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe, and pianist Marta Aznavoorian, into his office and suggested they form a trio.
“We played our first concert together, and he called us in again and he announced had the prefect name for us and from that moment on we were the Lincoln Trio,” said Ruhstrat, who also serves as coordinator of the strings chamber program and Northwestern University in Evanston.
The Lincoln Trio will perform at 7 p.m. May 7 at the Trapp Auditorium in Waukegan.
Little must have known that the trio would succeed, because since their formation they have been called one of the hottest young trios in the business by Fanfare magazine.
The trio is especially known for its skill at not only performing well-known chamber works written hundreds of years ago by masters such as Beethoven, but also new music written in the 20th and 21st centuries.
“One of our missions is to perform a living composer on every program we do,” Ruhstrat said. “It’s so important to highlight these wonderful composers, and we have several of them in Chicago,” she said, adding the trio’s first album highlighted all American female composers.
A contemporary piece the trio will perform in Waukegan is a work by Stacy Garrop called “Silver Dagger.”
“She wrote it as a thank you present for us after we played at her wedding,” Ruhstrat said. “It’s a wonderfully atmospheric piece based on an Appalachian folk song which on our first reading was a bit tricky rhythmically. The wonderful thing. about this piece is that it is an example of a work that really opens people up to contemporary music.
“Sometimes, when you make an announcement that you are about to play a ‘contemporary’ piece there are a lot of Beethoven and Brahms lovers that can be reticent to (hearing) something new … This is a piece that has opened the minds of many people to listening to newer pieces as it is universally liked on our programming.”
The trio has brought its contemporary and classical music in Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and most recently a five-city tour in Colombia.
“We had a piece written for us with colorful Colombian rhythms and influence by Juan Antonio Cuellar. This was a wonderful way to be immersed in the culture,” Ruhstrat said.
The trio also was chosen to perform at the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration with President Barack Obama in 2009.
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At the Waukegan concert, the Lincoln Trio will perform Piano Trio No. 4 in B flat by Beethoven.
“It is a really fun one with theme and variations, and has one of the most beautiful slow movements,” Ruhstrat said.
For something in a completely different genre, the group will perform the “Verano” or summer movement from “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla. “Everyone loves a tango,” Ruhstrat said, referring to the music’s style. “We’re all looking forward to summer here in Chicago.”
The Lincoln Trio also will perform a piano trio by contemporary composer, Rebecca Clarke, who played viola and wrote a great deal of music before her death in 1979.
Ruhstrat said the trio Clarke wrote “is very romantic, and the audience will love it.”
Piano trio is a powerful combination of instruments, she said. Audiences will enjoy the different textures and sounds from the piano and two strings, as well as seeing the mechanics of the instruments, she said.
The Lincoln Trio also devotes time to teaching, and serves as the ensemble-in-residence at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. Their 2017 CD “Trios from our Homelands,” was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award.
Lake County Community Concerts presents The Lincoln Trio
When: 7 p.m. May 7
Where: Orlin Trapp Auditorium, Waukegan High School, 2325 Brookside Ave.
Tickets: $30
Information: 847-281-5209; lakecountyconcerts.org
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.