The Ahn Trio - composed of sisters Lucia (piano), Maria (cello), and Angella (violin) - has enthralled audiences with their freewheeling approach to chamber music, original programming, musical trailblazing, and unabashed zeal in playing works written for them by living composers. All trained at the Juilliard School of Music, the Korean-born sisters have been celebrated as consummate musicians, innovative collaborators, classical music ambassadors, and teachers. The LA Times has called them “exacting and exciting musicians,” and New York Newsday has proclaimed them “Classical Revolutionaries.”
In their two decades of touring, the Trio has performed all over the world and in all 50 states. Of their experiences, the Ahns say “getting invited to perform at places like the Obama White House, TED Women where we were amongst esteemed female leaders, or being invited to perform at the iTunes Festival in London where Michael Nyman sat in for Lucia for one of the Trio’s favorite pieces written by Nyman (“Heart Asks Pleasure First”); all these extraordinary experiences are very humbling and remind us of how lucky we are to be able to share our art all over the world.” From Vienna's Musikverein, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Seoul Arts Center, New York's Lincoln Center, Leipzig's Gewandhaus, Beijing's Concert Hall, to Istanbul's Aya Irini in Topkapi Palace, the three sisters share their innovaFve spirit and ever-evolving vision of music.
Ahn Trio’s continued passion and interest in film music resulted in collaborations with award winning film directors in new music video films - Ludovico Einaudi’s Nuvole Bianche (White Clouds) featuring actress Yamila Diaz and Candybox by Dutch composer Chiel Meijering - which were also released as digital singles in 2019. The Trio also stars in “Three Sisters” playing Yuryung (wriAen for Ahns by their idol, jazz guitar legend Pat Metheny), a music and art film produced by the stunning Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana situated on 10,000 acres of wondrous nature. Ahns’ desire to spread their indie classical music beyond concert halls is becoming true, and their music continues to appear in figure skating routines, modern dance, films, and TV.
The Trio released Blue, one of their most personal albums, in 2017. The Ahns describe their album – “Blue is a musical diary for us. Purple Rain brings memories of hanging out with Prince at Paisley Park, working with Pat Metheny on Yuryung, a trio he wrote for us, performing Skylife at the Obama White House, Maria falling in love with Brazil and bossa nova resulting in Ahn Trio’s braziliAHN project, of exploring new soundscape with the great Parisian jazz musician Nguy.n L.. Other favorite tracks are gorgeous pieces written by Hyung-ki Joo of Igudesman & Joo, and Jimi Hendrix’s LiAle Wing arranged especially for us by jazz pianist composer D.D. Jackson. LiAle Wing lyrics fit very well into our vision. She’s walking through the clouds, with a circus mind that’s running wild… fly on little wing… Another inspiration for the album comes from our mother who was the original rebel that instilled this free spirit in us.”
The Ahn Trio’s very first recording, Villa-Lobos & Ravel Piano Trios (Chesky), brought rave reviews, with Audio Magazine praising, "this is one of Ravel's best and never better played.” The next recording, Piano Trios by Dvorak, Suk, and Shostakovich (EMI), won Germany's prestigious ECHO Award. An MTV appearance on Bryan Adams' "Unplugged" inspired the album Ahn-Plugged (EMI). Groovebox (EMI) was followed by Lullaby For My Favorite Insomniac (Sony), which remained No. 8 on the Billboard Charts for 26 weeks. The Trio has also released Smetana (Warner) with the Czech Grammy-winning rock group Tata Bojs, and Maria released a solo EP of her idol David Bowie’s cello covers titled, Je T’aime Bowie. Digital releases of the Trio’s popular tracks, Nuvole Bianche and Candybox, were followed by Lucia and Maria’s single, Love, by Michael Nyman, and Maria’s cello solo single, Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen. John Lissauer, original producer of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah said of Maria’s cover version, “He (Leonard Cohen) would have loved this! I think we’re over 650 recorded versions, to date…but this stands out for its “sonic sense” and its simplicity.”
Among numerous Trio works written for them are two Triple Concerti - Hardware Concerto by Kenji Bunch and March of the Gypsy Fiddler by Mark O’Connor, for which the Ahns did a live recording at the world premiere concert with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.
Ahn Trio’s unique approach to classical music led them early on to the pages of TIME magazine’s “Asian Wiz Kids” story, VOGUE magazines in several countries, global GAP ad, GQ, People Magazine’s 50 most beautiful people issue, art magazine VISIONAIRE, and Glamour magazine, among others. The sisters love to fuse their work with a wide range of arFsts and musical genres, collaboraFng with a B-Boy dance group, lighting designers, DJs and rock bands; performing with DJ Spooky, Juno aka superdrive, the David Parsons Dance Company, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, the James Sewell Ballet Company, touring the Czech Republic with the Tata Bojs to sold-out shows, and performing on stage with art installations. Other collaborations are to follow. Ahns are planning to release a new work for Piano Trio, electric guitar and computer, Gamyeon III, written especially for them by computer music guru Dr. Tae Hong Park at NYU. Three new albums are also in the works.
The Ahn Trio is a Steinway Artists group, and Angella and Maria play on instruments made for them by Sam Zygmuntowicz.
For Ahn Trio inquiries: Peter Cho - BeLikeWater Productions - peter@belikewaterproductions.com
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Links to videos and live performances:
TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/ahn_trio_a_modern_take_on_piano_violin_cello
Ahn Trio Nuvole Bianche (Official Music Video): https://youtu.be/NmbFjiV9ARc
Ahn Trio Candybox (Official Music Video): https://youtube/n5FkZma0wAA
Ahn Trio movie “Three Sisters” by Tippet Rise Art Center: https://youtu.be/w-279UO4FxI
Ahn Trio mini documentary: https://youtu.be/LHnrOg-rq04
Ahn Trio on KBS (Korean TV Show) “Classical Diary” Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFj92yQaQFw
Ahn Trio collaboration concert with B-Boy Dance Group “Visual Shock” at the Seoul Arts Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IJ_A-IdxdQ
Ahn Trio with DJ Spooky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHOU1cMG89g
Ahn Trio Pop-Up Concert at the Jazz Dock Club in Prague: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Ht88d6V-A
Links to interviews and articles:
Ahn-Definable: The Eclectic Artistry of the Ahn Trio: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ahn-definable-the-eclec-Artistry-of-the-ahn- trio-ahn- trio-by-ludovico-granvassu.php
Ahn Trio interview on “innovation” for WIRED Italy magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN9xxBmiOpk
Ahn Trio Glamour Magazine photoshoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrv1WBy9Y0I