The Volta Piano Trio were invited to perform at KING FM radio's live show, and afterwards recorded Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio, movement 1:
The Icicle Piano Trio renamed itself the Volta Piano Trio in 2012. Our third CD was released in 2019, to critical acclaim, and to our great excitement. To record the great Brahms B major trio, paired with his friend and mentor, Clara Schumann, was perhaps our most ambitious project of all.
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio inB Major, Op. 8
1. Allegro con brio
2. Scherzo: Allegro molto
3. Adagio
4> Allegro
Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17
5. Allegro moderato
6. Scherzo: Tempo di Menuetto
7. Andante
8. Allegretto
CD reviews:
"…a performance of such aching beauty I find myself at a loss for words to describe it."
" I've heard more recordings and live performances of this work than I can count, but I don't think I've ever heard the opening cello solo played with such longing and intensity of feeling that the pain of it is palpable. The whole reading from beginning to end glows from within and vibrates on strings of celestial adulation. If you've ever encountered a performance of a familiar work so simultaneously poignant and thrilling that it gives you chills, you'll understand my reaction to the Volta Piano Trio's Brahms."
"For the Brahms, without question, this receives my most urgent of recommendations." --Jerry Dubins - Fanfare
"The Volta Trio is based in Washington State, and its three members—Jennifer Caine Provine, violin; Sally Singer Tuttle, cello; Oxana Ejokina, piano—transcend any identification as a regional group. They exhibit a high caliber of technical proficiency and musical instincts; their sonority is beautiful; and there's urgency and felt emotion in every measure."
"The opening moments of this early-late masterpiece reveal a great deal about an ensemble as the piano is layered with the voices of the cello and then the violin. The minute you hear Ejokina's flow and confidence in the piano part, the Romantic warmth of Tuttle's cello, and the purity of line spun by Provine's violin, you know what this performance will be about."
"I wonder if the Pacific Northwest realizes how outstanding a piano trio they have in their midst." --Huntley Dent - Fanfare
"The sense of conversation between players in the long first movement is gloriously achieved; this, along with that textural awareness, gives the performance a palpable feeling of freshness."
"Excellent performances by a true chamber ensemble of magnificent music. If you don't know the Clara Schumann G-Minor Trio, this is the perfect way to gain its acquaintance." --Colin Clarke - Fanfare
Haydn: Piano Trio in E major, Hob. XV: 28
Turina: Circulo - Fantasy for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op.91
Shostakovich: Piano Trio no. 2 in E minor, Op.67
(Listen at i-tunes or amazon.com)
"The Icicle Creek Piano Trio's performance of Shostakovich's increasingly iconic Piano Trio uses elegance of tone and grace of line and texture to give the composer's bitter music... The famously treacherous and vividly expressive harmonics, which open the piece, instead of being ghostly, let alone eerie, are played with a transforming sweep of gossamer beauty....the Allegretto struts, swaggers and soars as only the Russian soul dares, more affirmations than tragedy, more human love and less political context".
-- Gramophone
"I can honestly say that the ICT’s Shostakovich is another award winning performance that, in my opinion, demotes even the best of the rest to second class..... Con Brio’s latest Icicle Creek Piano Trio album is a must for all chamber music lovers".
--Fanfare
"After garnering rave reviews for their debut CD, this group will stun the listener with yet another electrifying recording".
-- CD Baby, 2011
"As for the Shostakovich Op. 67 Trio that takes up the balance of the disc, I suppose I’ve heard it played as well, but not often. Caine and Singer are in eerie accord all the time, matching timbres and dynamics with what appears almost casual perfection. Singer’s opening harmonics are inhumanly clean and pure".
-- San Francisco Classical Voice
(Click here to see full reviews).
Icicle Creek Piano Trio, Debut CD
Ravel: Piano Trio in a minor, Schubert: Piano Trio No.2 in E-flat.
Released by Con Brio Recordings. Produced and edited by Al Swanson. Jennifer Caine, violin, Sally Singer, cello, Oksana Ezhokina, Piano
(Listen at i-tunes or amazon.com)
"There is something both magical and exalted happening here, a communing of spirits so sensitive and responsive to every nuance of expression that three souls merge into one, and only one voice is heard: Schubert’s. It may be an odd way to describe a musical performance, but I felt as though a reading this beautiful should only exist in an otherworldly state of moral perfection and pure grace."
-- Fanfare Magazine
"This is one album that is absolutely worth having."
-- American Record Guide
"The playing is warmly considered, meticulous in articulation and blend, and silken in sonority".
-- Gramophone
" Elegant and sprightly...true to the essence of the music..."
-- The Strad
" This stellar recording captures some truly stunning musicianship."
-- CD Baby
(Click here to see full reviews)
Released by Con Brio Recordings. Produced and edited by Al Swanson. Jennifer Caine, violin, Sally Singer, cello, Oksana Ezhokina, Piano
(Listen at i-tunes or amazon.com)
"There is something both magical and exalted happening here, a communing of spirits so sensitive and responsive to every nuance of expression that three souls merge into one, and only one voice is heard: Schubert’s. It may be an odd way to describe a musical performance, but I felt as though a reading this beautiful should only exist in an otherworldly state of moral perfection and pure grace."
-- Fanfare Magazine
"This is one album that is absolutely worth having."
-- American Record Guide
"The playing is warmly considered, meticulous in articulation and blend, and silken in sonority".
-- Gramophone
" Elegant and sprightly...true to the essence of the music..."
-- The Strad
" This stellar recording captures some truly stunning musicianship."
-- CD Baby
(Click here to see full reviews)
Icicle Creek Piano Trio performance at Town Hall, Seattle
"America’s Jennifer Caine, violin, England’s Sally Singer, cello, and Russia’s Oksana Ezhokina, piano, play with that sensitivity to each other which comes usually with years of playing together. Singer never seemed even to look at the others, she seemed to have her eyes shut, yet she and the others over and over would come in at exactly the same moment with the same artful shaping and dynamic of a particular phrase. It was as though they breathed together. It’s intelligent playing, with each work receiving attention to its era as well as its composer and its overarching structure".
-- The Gathering Note, Philippa Kiraly
"America’s Jennifer Caine, violin, England’s Sally Singer, cello, and Russia’s Oksana Ezhokina, piano, play with that sensitivity to each other which comes usually with years of playing together. Singer never seemed even to look at the others, she seemed to have her eyes shut, yet she and the others over and over would come in at exactly the same moment with the same artful shaping and dynamic of a particular phrase. It was as though they breathed together. It’s intelligent playing, with each work receiving attention to its era as well as its composer and its overarching structure".
-- The Gathering Note, Philippa Kiraly