A B O U T
"Whatever souls are made of, [ours] are made from the same."
(adapted from Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights)
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Trio Brontë is 1st prize winner and special prize winner of the Franz Schubert and Modern Music International Chamber Music Competition, 1st prize winner of the Ilmari Hannikainen International Chamber Music Competition, and 2nd prize winner of the Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition.
2025 was an exciting year for Trio Brontë: not only was it a busy year of competition successes, but the trio also released its debut album to critical acclaim of Franz Schubert’s B-flat Major Trio and Wolfgang Rihm’s Fremde Szene III. Praised equally for “truly [making] their instruments sing” (Klassik Heute) and “[sensitivity] to the finest nuances” just as they are for “powerful [playing], without hesitation” (Deutschlandfunk Kultur) and “eruptive outbursts” (Falter), the trio strives to inhabit many different sound worlds and bring curiosity, imagination, and spontaneity to all its repertoire.
In the coming seasons Trio Brontë looks forward to performances at Konzerthaus Berlin, “Konzerte im Salon” Linz, Musikverein Graz, the Kumho Festival in Finland, and a concert tour of the United States. The trio was also a Britten Pears Young Artist in 2024-25. Their recordings have been broadcasted in Germany (Deutschlandfunk Kultur), Austria (Ö1), France (Radio France), Finland (Areena), Bulgaria (Classic FM), and the United States (WXXI).
Trio Brontë is frequently asked how it got its name. The first piece Lili, Chiara, and Annie ever played together was Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 2 in C minor. Written just one year after Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights was published, there are striking mood similarities between Mendelssohn’s turbulent, stormy music and Brontë’s novel. Furthermore, both as friends and professional partners, Annie, Lili, and Chiara are inspired by the Brontë sisters as a symbol of artistic and personal independence, passion, and mutual support (“sisterhood”).
Lili, Chiara, and Annie met while studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, where they study with Jonathan Aner at the Center for Chamber Music. They have received additional coaching from David Waterman, Eldar Nebolsin, Troels Svane, and Frans Helmerson.
L I L I
Pianist Lili Bogdanova, named Young Musician of the Year by the Bulgarian National Radio in 2014, has performed worldwide as a soloist in Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, USA and others. Recent performance highlights include Brahms First Piano Concerto and Beethoven Triple Concerto at the Metropolitan Theatre in Tokyo with the Mozart Virtuoso Orchestra, Clara Schumann Piano Concerto with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and a feature in the "Es Brahmst" Marathon at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.
Lili is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions including Strumenti e musica, Italy and Princess Lalla Meryem, Morocco.
In 2014 she released her debut CD with works by Claude Debussy and César Franck. She has played live on Deutschlandfunk Kulturradio and Rbb Kulturradio in Germany. To learn more about Lili, visit her website here:
A N N I E
Praised for anything from “hypnotic lyricism, causing listeners to forget where they were for a moment” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) to "delightfully pluck[ing] and slapp[ing] her cello like a rockabilly upright bassist," cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins is 1st prize winner of the 2024 Buchet International Cello Competition (“Prix Buchet”) and 2023 Pierre Fournier Award.
Annie is Artist-in-Residence of the Austin Chamber Music Center in Texas, and regularly participates in festivals such as Krzyżowa Music, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Yellow Barn, and Marlboro Music, where she has collaborated with artists such as Miriam Fried, Nobuko Imai, Anthony Marwood, and members of the Brentano, Juilliard, and Kuss Quartets. Her performances have brought her to venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, het Konzertgebouw, and Wigmore Hall.
In the 2024-25 season Annie is a regular guest cellist with Frankfurt’s Ensemble Modern. To learn more about Annie, visit her website here:
https://www.anniejacobs-perkins.com/
C H I A R A
German-Italian violinist Chiara Sannicandro is a Laureate and winner of the Audience Prize at the 2021 Joseph Joachim Violin Competition 2021 in Hanover, 2nd prize winner of the International Johannes Brahms Competition Pörtschach, as well as a prizewinner at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition New York. Born in 1997 in Salzburg to a family of musicians, music has always been a driving force in her life.
Chiara has participated in festivals such as the Kronberg Academy, IMS Prussia Cove, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and has appeared as a soloist in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Romania and Portugal as well as in the USA and Canada.
Her participation in chamber music festivals, her work as concertmaster of the Indiana University Chamber Orchestra and her regular participation in the Camerata Salzburg underscore the young violinist's multifaceted musical activities and passions.
Chiara plays a violin by Matteo Goffriller Venezia 1723 on generous loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. To learn more about Chiara, visit her website here:
https://www.chiarasannicandro.com/