“A piano trio bursting with far more than promise.” — TIMES (London)

Omri Epstein, piano

Mathieu van Bellen, violin

Ori Epstein, cello

Named after the legendary violinist Adolf Busch, this European ensemble has emerged as one of their generation's 'leading piano trios' (Süddeutsche Zeitung). Described as playing with 'effortless musicianship' (The Times) and great emotional sensitivity, Mathieu van Bellen (violin), Ori Epstein (cello), and Omri Epstein (piano) met in London during their studies at the Royal College of Music, more than a decade ago. In recent seasons, Busch Trio has performed at Konzerthaus Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris and across the US and Canada. Having recored 8 CDs on Alpha Classics since 2016, their most recent 2023 release, Ravel & Shostakovich: Piano Trios, was called "a first-rate issue" by Gramophone and "absolutely overwhelming" by BBC Music Magazine. They are currently in the process of recording a further 5 CDs of Beethoven’s Complete Piano Trios. The Busch Trio performs on the Ex-Adolf Busch, 1783 G.B. Guadagnini violin and and an 1815 G.B. Ceruti cello. The Trio members live in Amsterdam and maintain their intensive rehearsal and performance schedule.

Omri Epstein – piano
Mathieu van Bellen – violin
Ori Epstein – cello

Described as playing with ‘effortless musicianship’ (The Times) and great emotional sensitivity, Mathieu van Bellen (violin), Ori Epstein (cello) and Omri Epstein (piano) met in London during their studies at the Royal College of Music. The ensemble’s name, ‘Busch Trio’, is derived first and foremost from Mathieu’s violin, an ‘ex-Adolf Busch’ G.B. Guadagnini (Turin, 1783), but also from Adolf Busch, the shining example for the young trio. In 1935, violinist Adolf Busch, together with Rudolf Serkin (piano) and Hermann Busch (cello), made a legendary recording of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat major – one of the most important works in the literature for trios, and a core piece in the Bush Trio’s repertoire.

Mathieu, Ori and Omri won several prizes in international competitions as soloists and graduated from renowned academies of music in Britain. The Busch Trio are the recipients of the most significant prize for musicians in the Netherlands: the Kersjes Prize. They have been the recipients of several other international awards since. In 2018 they were the winners of the NORDMETALL-Ensemble Prize at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Their shared passion for music however remained their strongest bond. ‘This trio is the fruit of a friendship that has existed for years’, is how Omri Epstein describes the essentially spontaneous process by which the trio came into being from 2012.

The Trio’s 2021-22 season highlights include an international tour throughout Israel, Germany, England, Austria, United States, and the Netherlands. The Trio performed in the US with the Melbourne Chamber Music Society, Fort Worth Chamber Music Society and Fullerton Friends of Music. They were featured performers at the Wijnhaven Festival, the Festival van Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen, the Stuttgart Liederhalle and the Eilat Festival in Israel. In Spring 2022, the Trio will give recitals in England and Austria, before returning to their home country of the Netherlands, where they will perform in collaboration with guest artist Maria Milstein. They will conclude their tour in Heidelberg, Germany.

Highlights from recent seasons include concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, the Mozartfest in Würzburg, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Heidelberger Frühling and the Liederhalle Stuttgart. The Busch Trio have performed with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra led by Karina Canellakis, and with Michael Collins, Bruno Giuranna, Gregor Sigl and Miguel da Silva.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Busch Trio released their newest album to critical acclaim, Schubert: Trio Opus 100 – Sontatensatz & Notturno. Described by Gramophone as playing with “…affection and style…with a vivid but always appropriate ear for instrumental color…”, the newest recording by the Trio features three works by Franz Schubert, including his famous Piano Trio no.2. Diapason Magazine hailed the album as an “…exhilarating and thrilling reading…as epic as it is stunning.” Their other recordings include a collaboration with the Alpha Label which have resulted in a series of four CDs covering the complete works of Antonin Dvorák for piano and strings.

Great names such as the teacher of chamber music Eberhard Feltz, pianist Sir András Schiff and the Artemis Quartet have also contributed to the development of the Bush Trio, as has the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. The Busch Trio members have now reached a stage in which they primarily learn from each other, during joint rehearsals that largely consist of sharing thoughts and views about music.

What is also unusual is that the Busch Trio, while not strictly part of the historically informed performance movement, do play on instruments with gut strings. They decided to do so because gut strings provide a different type of articulation and a better sound, which cannot be achieved using modern metal strings due to the greater pressure they require.

Today the Busch Trio members live in Amsterdam; their extremely intensive rehearsal practice would simply be impossible otherwise. ‘We live like monks in a monastery ‘, they confess. ‘We don’t do this for ourselves, really, but for our best friends’ – comments such as these reflect both their serious attitude and their sense of togetherness. That should be taken quite literally: the Busch Trio also go on holiday together and spend a lot of time together when they are not playing music. Inspired in part by the monastery metaphor, the trio has recently moved into the 450 square meter Schuurkerk in Zaandam (near Amsterdam), a former clandestine church. Together with violinist Maria Milstein, the trio transformed this place of religious worship into a center for chamber music and gave it a new name: MuziekHaven. In addition to offering rehearsal space, the center serves as a venue for concerts that is also available to other ensembles.