Beaux Arts Trio celebrates anniversary concert

The Beaux Arts Trio has been delighting audiences for 50 years. Founded in 1955 by Menahem Pressler, the trio has toured the world and played in front of countless numbers of people. This summer, as part of the Summer Music Festival held by the IU School of Music, the Beaux Arts Trio will be performing in Bloomington. The concerts give audiences a chance to see Distinguished Professor of Music Pressler perform some truly amazing works with a group he created. \nThe Beaux Arts Trio gave a concert, along with the Festival Orchestra, on June 30. A visit to the group's Web site would reveal the basic story, but it would still not give one insight into the trio's playing style. The trio played a triple concerto at the very end of the concert. It is rare to see a triple concerto performed, but the trio gave an amazing performance. A triple concerto takes a lot of practice to be able to play. It was interesting to see the Trio play with the Festival Orchestra, but after the concerto performance, the Trio stayed to play two encore pieces. At first thought, one may not be sure how a trio made up a violin, a piano, and a cello could work together, but these instruments and the musicians playing them meshed very well. At the June 30 concert, the Beaux Arts Trio received three standing ovations.\nBill Somach, a concert patron, gave his reactions to the show. Somach is a student that is studying privately with a professor in the music school. He said he came to the concert to hear the triple concerto played. He once played in an orchestra performing the same concerto and liked the piece. He stated, "I thought it was fantastic. It's just difficult to make (the piece) sound good. I thought it was very well played." \nThe Beaux Arts Trio was originally scheduled to play on June 30, July 2 and July 11. According to the IU School of Music Web site, the Trio added an additional concert on July 1. The concerts on July 1 and 2 featured all Beethoven music. This is the music that was played at the first concert the Trio played back in 1955. \nThe trio's final concert is July 11 at 8 p.m. in Auer Hall. They will be performing with Joan Rodgers, a soprano. For a list of the pieces the trio will be playing that night, as well as to reserve tickets, visit http://www.music.indiana.edu/apps/prelude/new/index.php?id=1602.\nIt was great to see the work of an IU professor, as well as getting the chance to see the world class musicians Daniel Hope (violin) and Antonio Meneses (cello) that make up the rest of the Trio. The musicians really immerse themselves in the music and convey their passion to the audience. One can see their dedication and the emotion and hard work they put into their craft. Audiences in Bloomington are fortunate to be able to celebrate such a meaningful anniversary with the Beaux Arts Trio.