It is always a pleasure to go to a concert in the Olivier Hall. Completed in 2019 and seating 850 people, the oval-shaped hall, with its beautiful oak panelling, was designed to echo the Sheldonian Theatre. Most importantly, it has fantastic acoustics, so any concert there can be enjoyed to the full, and the Ferdinand Piano Trio was no exception.
The Trio consists of Nicola Eimer on the piano, Florence Cooke on the violin and Christoph Richter on the cello, all of whom are renowned solo artists in their own right. Eimer has performed all over the world and worked with many different artists, often called on to be a guest accompanist at international events. Cooke has played all over Europe; as well as playing with the Ferdinand Piano Trio, she directs music courses and is also a guest teacher in the Yehudi Menuhin school. Since becoming the youngest principal cellist of a major symphony orchestra at just 23 years old, Richter has been the guest principal in many other orchestras, especially in his native Germany.
The first piece played was Clara Schumann’s piano trio in G minor op 17. Clara Schumann wrote this piece in 1846 (she was pregnant with her fourth child so could not tour) before her husband wrote his piano trios: sadly, when her husband’s work became well known, she said of her own work, “It’s just the work of a woman.” However, although she is sometimes overshadowed by her more famous husband, she was a brilliant pianist and composer in her own right, composing her first piano music at the age of 13.
Her piano trio in G minor, subtle and poetic, is considered her masterpiece. It does not showcase one instrument but is rather a seamless harmony of all three instruments. The first movement is lyrical and gentle at first, building to a passionate crescendo. This is followed by a lighter scherzo in minuet tempo; the andante is a beautiful, gentle lyrical movement, one instrument after the other picking up the melody. In stark contrast, it is followed by the spirited finale with its contrapuntal sections.
Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio no 1 in D minor, written in 1839 and published the following year, is one of his most popular pieces, possibly one of his greatest. After Robert Schumann heard this piece, he called Mendelssohn ‘the Mozart of the nineteenth century’. He extensively rewrote the piece to make the piano more prominent: however, it is the cello which starts the first warm movement, followed by the violin, with the piano coming in on top. The second movement starts with a beautiful solo piece by the piano before the melody is picked up and echoed by the strings. The scherzo is a short lively piece, the instruments all racing over the notes. This is followed by the passionate finale, which starts in D minor but builds to a triumphant D major ending; watching Eimer's fingers flying over the keys was a joy, and the cello part with the piano was beautiful to listen to and watch.
What stood out on the night was how well they performed as an ensemble: the two trios, particularly the Mendelssohn, require precision and clarity and the three virtuoso players played as one, the music being a joyful balance of the three instruments. The Olivier's next concert is the Adderbury Ensemble on Thursday 15th January 2026; I highly recommend going along, and checking the website https://www.olivierrecitals.org/ for future events.