Antonín Dvořák is undoubtedly the composer who, along with Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884), brought Czech music to global prominence. It is worth noting that a quarter of Dvořák’s oeuvre consists of chamber music, an astonishing amount for a composer who was active in the second half of the 19th century.

Dvořák’s four piano trios are, alongside his far more numerous string quartets, among the most significant chamber works he wrote. After the first two trios of 1875/76, which give an early indication of the composer’s creative intensity, the trios presented here, namely op.65 (1883) and op.90 (1890/91), show him to be a fully accomplished master of this genre. The underlying sentiment of the four-movement Trio op.65 in F minor might be described as sombre, passionate and dramatic. This character is already evident in the opening idea, played by the strings in unison, a theme that then undergoes complex development and builds up to a first dramatic climax.

The violinist and violist Werner von Schnitzler was born in Cologne in 1978. He studied with Igor Ozim in Cologne, Pinchas Zukerman in New York, and with Viktor Tretyakov, Antoine Tamestit (viola) and Harald Schoneweg (chamber music) in Cologne.

Aiki Mori-von Schnitzler was born in Japan in 1988. She began playing the piano when she was six. At the age of eight, she discovered her love of the cello and began her tuition with renowned cellist Hakuro Mohri.

The pianist Asa Mori was born in Japan in 1981. She began learning the piano at six with Hideo Sugiura and Izumi Komoriya.

‘The three musicians develop a beauty of sound that brings out the unique characteristics of piano, violin and cello. Carefully, with a gentle touch on the Steinway grand and subtle bowing in the strings, they explore the themes, build the dance-like elements in great arcs of tension... A delight, these Dvorakian Dumky movements, as played by the Mori Trio.’ – Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger