The Trio Koch, consisting of two violins and a piano, is a family affair. The father, Philippe (violin), his daughter Laurence (violin) and son Jean-Philippe (piano), explore the original and little-played repertoire of trio works for two violins and piano, performing music from all periods, from Bach to Shostakovich and Berio, taking in Mozart, Moszkowski, Martinu and Bartók along the way.
Their projects include performances in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, UK, Spain and Japan. The audience has witnessed the keen musical empathy their family’s long artistic heritage has given them. In 2016, the Trio released an album on the Belgian label Et'Cetera which features original works for two violins and piano: Moszkowski’s suite in G minor Op. 71, Milhaud’s Sonata Op. 15 and Martinu’s Sonatina H. 198.
The album has been nominated at the International Classic Music Awards 2016, it has received a good attention from the media as well as some excellent reviews (Klassik Heute, WDR 3, Radio Klassik, Klassieke Zaken, Pizzicato).
: PRESS QUOTES
"The way this musical family playfully communicates with each other and the audiance is very charming." - Isabel Herzfeld, Klassik Heute
"The two violins are helpfully separated with convincing clarity in the disc’s warm, truthful recording (…) in the sparkling Moszkowski Suite (…) father and daughter pull of (violin lines) with beautifully blended, balanced tones throughout, and well-matched articulations and attacks in the fiery finale. (…) The players match the Martinu Sonatine’s stravinskian cleanness with admirably crisp, athletic playing, sophisticated in its opening movement and enjoyably energetic and spiky in its finale." - David Kettle, The Strad
"Vater, tochter und Sohn Koch spielen nicht nur kammermusikalisc-konzertant aufeinander zu, sie interpretieren auch spieltechnisch auf makellos hohem Niveau" - Giselher Schubert, Fono Forum
"These three players conjure a quite wonderful Modéré, gently shaping this glorious music to perfection. They find a rare beauty finding subtile increases in tempo and dynamics. Trio Koch delivers wonderful performances that are full of spirit and energy as well as moments of much sensitivity." - The Classical Review
: BIOGRAPHY
In addition to being leader of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Philippe Koch is a professor of violin at the Liège Royal Conservatoire, a soloist, a chamber musician and a co-founder of the Koch Trio. After perfecting his craft with master violinists C. Ferras, P. Amoyal and A. Grumiaux, he embarked on a solo career in Europe, Japan, the United States and Latin America, performing with leading conductors and orchestras. He has recorded more than 25 CDs, many of which have won prestigious awards (including the Diapason d’or, Choc de la musique, Recommandé par Répertoire and Pizzicato). He has also served as a judge at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (violin). Philippe Koch is a keen chamber musician, performing with the Trio Grumiaux (with L. Devos and L. Dewez), the Brussels String Quartet, the Quatuor Louvigny, G. Caussé, P. Gililov, M. Kliegel and others.
In addition to teaching violin at the Luxembourg Conservatoire, Laurence Koch regularly performs as a soloist in orchestras both inside and outside Luxembourg. She is also a member of a number of chamber music ensembles, such as the New Generation Trio, which she formed in 2008 with E. Reyes and S. Dupriez. She has won numerous awards, including the IKB Prize and the Stelmes Prize in Luxembourg and the Charlier Prize and the Prix de l’Oeuvre des Artistes in Belgium. Laurence also performs regularly with other artists, such as L. Devos, D. Blumenthal, E. Reyes, M. Kerschenmeyer, P. Petrov, C. Krier and S. Walnier, at leading venues and Festivals (Stavelot, Bozar, Flagey, Midi-Minimes, Wilty, Echternach Festival, Château de Bourglinster among others).
Jean-Philippe Koch studied the piano at the Musikhochschule in Saarbrücken, Liège Royal Conservatoire, Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he has been awarded a scholarship by the school, and Codarts University of Arts in Rotterdam. Always on the lookout for new approaches to piano, Jean-Philippe has attended master classes given by L. Boulet, P. L. Aimard, K. Stott, D. Protopopescu, C. Fontlupt, T. Duis, S. Demay and others. In 2014, he joined the teaching staff the piano at the Conservatoire. Jean-Philippe gave a lot of performances around the world, at the Echternach Festival, BNP-Paribas bank, Flagey Brussels, in Japan, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands. He was also awarded the SACEM Prize, the EMCY (European Union of Music Competitions for Youth) Prize and the best composition prize for at the Artistes en Herbe international composition competition. Jean-Philippe also has a keen interest in improvisation, jazz and composing, performing both alone and as part of a group.
