Eggner Trio is a Piano Trio from Vienna.
The trio was founded in 1997 as Eggner Rachmaninov Trio Vienna founded by the three brothers Christopher (piano), George (violin) and Florian Eggner (cello), who had previously also been performing as a soloist. Two years later joined the ensemble to the present name[1].
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As early as 1999, the Austrian musicians won the First Prize of the International Brahms Competition in Poertschach and conquered the international music world in 2003 by winning the First Prize of the prestigious Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (plus the Musica Viva Australia Special Prize)[2].
Their most important teachers were Guenter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet), Juri Smirnov (Brahms Trio Vienna) and the Altenberg Trio. In addition, the Trio has worked in masterclasses with Menahem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio), Norbert Brainin and Sigmund Nissel (Amadeus Quartet), Thomas Kakuska (Alban Berg Quartet) as well as with Steven Isserlis.
The three brothers have given concerts in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Tunisia as well as in the USA, and have performed at major venues and leading festivals in Austria, such as the Konzerthaus, Vienna, Brucknerhaus Linz, Klangbogen Vienna, Lockenhaus Festival, Oberoesterreichische Stiftskonzerte, Carinthischer Sommer, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg Hohenems.
During the 2005-2006 season, the Eggner Trio appeared in the Rising Stars series at Konserthuset Stockholm, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Megaron Athens, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Cologne, Cité de la Musique Paris, Carnegie Hall New York, Musikverein Vienna and Mozarteum Salzburg and performed at the Herkulessaal in Munich. During the same season, the Trio went on tour through Australia (the Special Prize of the Musica Viva Australia Award) and was invited again to undertake another tour in 2008.
During the 2006-2007 and the 2007-2008 seasons, the Eggner Trio was invited by Chamber Music New Zealand to tour New Zealand[3].
Since 2005, the Eggner Trio has been teaching various chamber music courses in Austria, for example at the Academy at Castle Weinberg and the Chamber Music Festival Reichenau.
The Eggner brothers have performed as soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and in Bohuslav Martinu’s Triple-Concertino with the South Bohemian Chamber Orchestra Budweis, Orchestra Filarmonica dell’Umbria, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Tonkuenstler Orchestra Lower Austria.
Georg Eggner plays a violin built by Joseph Gagliano in 1779 and Florian Eggner a violoncello built by Carl Richter in 1907.
The Eggner Trio has made numerous recordings for the Austrian Radio Corporation, the BBC, the German Bavarian Radio Corporation, the German South West Radio Corporation, Radio France, ABC Australia, the Radio New Zealand, as well as TV recordings in Australia, New Zealand and at the Oberoesterreichische Stiftskonzerte for Austrian Television.
Christoph Eggner, piano, is a multiple winner of competitions and studied with Paul Badura-Skoda and Oleg Maisenberg at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, as well as Brigitte Engerer and Michel Béroff at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. He received the Merit Scholarship from the Alban Berg Foundation. Since 2000 he is the assistant for Oleg Maisenberg at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Georg Eggner, violin, won first prizes in the national competitions Jugend Musiziert, Prima La Musica (Austria),as well as the international competition Concorso Internationale di Musica per I Giovani, Stresa (Italy), and "ORF-violin" 2001. After eleven years of lessons with Boris Kushnir, he studied with Günter Pichler of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He received scholarships from the Alban Berg Foundation, the Dürr Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation.
Florian Eggner, cello, was the first prize winner of the Austrian Federal Competition Prima La Musica in 1996. He studied with Wolfgang Herzer (former principal cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic) and Stefan Kropfitsch at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
The Eggner trio released its first 2008 CD Live Classics from the Ghost Trio and the Archduke Trio by Ludwig van Beethoven, who was honored with the award of Klassiek Centraal "Best Recording 2008". It was followed by other CDs.