LINCOLN TRIO

Desiree Ruhstrat, violin
David Cunliffe, cello
Marta Aznavoorian, piano

"Lincoln Trio sparkles as concert season begins ...The three musicians in the Lincoln Trio -- violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe and pianist Marta Aznavoorian -- are a pleasure to see and hear and we'll surely be hearing more from them as time goes on ... click here for more ... "
Dorothy Andries, Classical Music Critic

Formed in late 2002 the Lincoln Trio has emerged as one of Chicago's most celebrated ensembles. Their crafted balance of repertoire and presentation has allowed the group to make fans of sophisticated audiences, younger admirers of the Trio's contemporary programs, and students just discovering chamber music for the first time. Each member of the trio is a musician of international renown. Violinist Desiree Ruhstrat has performed throughout the US and Europe, appearing at the White House and performing on a live radio broadcast heard around the world with the Berlin Radio Orchestra; cellist David Cunliffe has performed with BBC and Royal Scottish orchestras as well as touring as a member of the Balanescu Quartet; and pianist Marta Aznavoorian has appeared with the Chicago Symphony and has performed at the Kennedy Center and Sydney Opera House.

Joined together by their experience and a common desire to perform, the Lincoln Trio is ensemble in residence at the Music Institute Of Chicago. The group draws it's name from their diverse backgrounds all brought together to make music in the heartland of the US, the land of Lincoln. Highlights of  their upcoming 2005-2006 season include the groups first Beethoven Triple Concerto, a premier of a work written for the trio entitled "Moon Jig" by Augusta Read Thomas and a performance at the Chicago Cultural Center celebrating the 28th anniversary of  the  Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series as well as their first European tour.

The Trio is sponsored by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

Desiree Ruhstrat The violin artistry of Ms. Ruhstrat has captivated audiences throughout Europe and the Americas. A seasoned performer, Ms. Ruhstrat made her professional debut at the age of twelve with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and at age 16, Ms Ruhstrat performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in Chicago's Orchestra Hall by invitation of Sir George Solti.

She has worked with many renowned conductors such as Lukas Foss, Eric Kunzel, William Smith and has appeared as soloist throughout the US and abroad. Ms. Ruhstrat performed in Hamburg, Göttingen, Baden-Baden and Stuttgart, with the Philharmonia Da Camera Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Michael Holtzel, and in Berlin where she was featured on a live radio broadcast performing Sibelius's Violin Concerto with the Berlin Radio Symphony under the direction of Ricosaccani. The Berlin Morning Post proclaimed, "Her wonderchild youth years already behind, she now stands with early maturity at the beginning of a likely brilliant career. At the same age once upon a time such violinists as Menuhin, Misha Elman and Schneiderhan excited the public in a similar sensation".

Ms. Ruhstrat has won numerous awards including first prize, as well as a special award for a young performer with extraordinary talent at the National Young Musicians Debut Competition in Los Angeles. She became the youngest prizewinner ever at Switzerland's Tibor Varga International Competition and also won the award for best interpretation of the commissioned contemporary composition. She went on to earn top prizes at the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition, Julius Stulberg International String Competition and the Mozart Festival Violin Competition.

As an active recitalist, she has appeared in Europe as well as the United States including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and at the White House by invitation of President and Nancy Reagan. Ms. Ruhstrat's distinguished career as a chamber musician includes appearances as guest artist of the Chamber Music Series of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Apollo Chamber Ensemble, the Colorado Chambers Players, Pacifica Quartet, University of Oklahoma, University of Wisconsin and the University of Tennessee.

Festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Peninsula Music Festival, Laurel Festival of the Arts, the Breckenridge Music Festival, Green Lake and Utah Music Festivals where she has also served as faculty.

She is a member of the Lincoln Trio Ensemble in Residence at the Music Institute of Chicago. She is also a founding member of the Virtuosi Chicago Orchestra. Ms. Ruhstrat is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and her teachers have included Joseph Gingold, Dorothy Delay, Harold Wippler and Aaron Rosand. This season Ms. Ruhstrat recorded the Stamitz Duo for Violin and Viola for Centaur Records .

Cellist David Cunliffe began studying at the age of nine in his native England. Three years later he was chosen to receive a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. In 1984 Mr. Cunliffe went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music where he founded the Argyll String Quartet and was the recipient of the Terrance Weill and Leonard Hirsch Quartet prizes and the Lady Barbirolli Chamber Music Award. His teachers included Margaret Moncreiff, Moray Welsh, William Pleeth, Christopher Bunting and Ralph Kirshbaum. He completed his studies at the International Yehudi Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland where he studied with Radu Aldulescu and toured throughout Europe with Yehudi Menuhin and the Camerata Lysy. In 1995 he was asked to join the Balanescu Quartet touring extensively to Australia, Europe and the United States appearing frequently on radio and TV, including featured performances on NPR and the BBC. He has served as Principal cello with the RNCM Chamber and Symphony Orchestras and performances with BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish and Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Cunliffe can be heard on various recording labels including Enja and DMD.

He is currently on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and a founding member of the Lincoln Trio, ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute. He is also a founding member of the Virtuosi Chicago Orchestra.

Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer has said of pianist Marta Aznavoorian, “(She is) a pianist of exceptionally finished technique and purity of musical impulse.”

Ms. Aznavoorian has performed in Chicago’s most prestigious venues, concertizing throughout the United States and abroad. A Chicago native, she has been soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony and San Diego Symphony. She has worked with many renowned conductors including the late Sir George Solti, Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, Henry Mazer, and others. Richard Kirchoff of the Salt Lake City Spectrum has written of her “Very rarely is one able to hear music that seems that it is being created anew and that creation is being heard for the first time. This experience was available to all who attended the recital of pianist Marta Aznavoorian. ” Solo recitals include performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Sydney Opera House, Steinway Hall, Weill Hall, Caramoor Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Music in the Loft, Dame Myra Hess Series, and Green Lake music Festival.

She has won first prize in numerous National and local competitions, including Seventeen/General Motor National Competition, the Aspen Music Festival Competition and the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation. She was also awarded top prize in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts where she was honored to become named a Presidential Scholar. Collaborative performances have been with artists such as Pacifica Quartet, Julian Rachlin, Robert Chen, Colin Carr, Stefan Milenkovich, and Jennifer Frautschi. She has made a recording of Sonatas for violin and piano by Stravinsky and Ravel under the ARTEC label and is currently working on her next recording with Cedille Records.

Ms. Aznavoorian received her Bachelor of Music degree and Music Performers Certificate from Indiana University, and a Masters of Music degree from New England Conservatory. Past teachers include Lev Vlassenko, Menahem Pressler, Carolyn McCracken, Patricia Zander, Evelyn Brancart, and Emilio del Rosario. She has enjoyed many chamber music coachings with Leon Fleischer, Gilbert Kalish, Joseph Kalichstein, and others.

Currently a member of the Lincoln Trio, ensemble in residence at the Music Institute of Chicago, Ms. Aznavoorian is also on the MIC Faculty.

Watch our performance video clips - from Dame Myra Hess Series performance.
Moon Jig by Augusta Read Thomas

Piano Trio, Op 11   by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires  by Astor Piazzolla