Directory
Trio Archai
“Their respect for each other, the attention to detail, and this wonderfully warm, fresh, yet very mature way of playing makes an audience cheer and go home knowing that they have witnessed a trio sure to become one of the greats.”
Trio - Piano Trio
Instrumentation
- Ayla Sahin - Violin
- Finn Mannion - Cello
- Mar Valor - Piano
Repertoire
Haydn, Trio No.40 in F-sharp minor, Op.73/3
Hummel, Trio in G , Op. 65
Schubert, Sonatensatz in Bb, D. 28
Schubert, Trio No.1 in Bb, D. 898
Brahms, Trio No.1 in B, Op. 8
Brahms, Trio No.3 in C minor, Op. 101
Debussy, Trio in G major, L. 5
Mendelssohn, Trio No.2 in C minor, Op. 66
Schumann, Trio in G minor, Op. 17
Schumann, Six Canonic Etudes (arr. Kirchner), Op. 56
Schumann, Trio No.3 in G minor, Op. 110
Bloch, 3 Nocturnes for Piano Trio, B. 56
Helen Grime, Three Whistler Miniatures
Jennifer Higdon, Piano Trio No.1
Shostakovich, Trio No.1, Op.8
(Correct as of June 2024.)
Biography
Founded in Switzerland, Trio Archai are rapidly building momentum in their home cities of Basel and London. With extensive chamber music experience between them, Mar Valor (piano), Ayla Sahin (violin) and Finn Mannion (cello) met at the Musik-Akademie Basel and were quick to recognise their distinctive bond as a trio. With their roots spread across all corners of Europe, Trio Archai is a miniature melting pot of culture from Scotland, Turkey, Spain, Ireland and Germany. Using this to their advantage, the trio strives to expand their knowledge beyond the standard repertoire and challenge audiences in future performances.
In March 2024, Trio Archai won First Prize at the 72nd Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London. The trio made a successful debut at Wigmore Hall in June this year as part of the ROSL Arts Gold Medal Ceremony. Awarded Making Music’s Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist Award (PDGYA), they look forward to concert engagements in festivals and music societies around the UK. This upcoming 25/6 season, the trio will give recitals at St George's Bristol, Wirral Chamber Series, Beaminster Festival, Hoylake Chamber Society and the Swiss Chamber Music Festival to name a few. Trio Archai will make numerous appearances at the 2025 Whittington Festival in which they will give the world premiere of a new composition by Jeremy Sams, commissioned for the trio by Sophia Rahman.
Prizewinners of the Orpheus Swiss Chamber Competition in Lucerne, Trio Archai received a specially-commissioned work from composer Dominic Röthlisberger to be premiered at the 2024 Swiss Chamber Music Festival. They appeared at a prizewinner's concert at Schaffhausen-Klassik Festival in June 2024, giving a full recital in Rathauslaube Schaffhausen.
Named after the Spirits of Personality, Archai (pronounced ‘Ark-eye’) is also the plural of the word ‘Arche’, meaning the beginning or the first principle of the world in ancient Greek philosophy. The name was chosen to signify their origins, principles and desires to evolve and make music together. The trio are currently studying in Basel with Claudio Martínez Mehner and Zoltan Fejérvári at their academy, and have enjoyed further coaching from John Myerscough, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexander Lonquich, Rainer Schmidt, Anton Kernjak and Robert Levin.
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