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All his life Tchaikovsky struggled against what he himself called ‘the inability in general to maintain a good grip on form. I have fought this innate weakness and something I’m proud of not without some decent results. Nonetheless I will go to my grave without having produced anything at all which has a perfect form.’ Dilettantism was anathema to him: ‘You really have to outdo yourself if you want to avoid lapsing into dilettantism, of which even someone as gifted as Glinka was not entirely free…’ Although Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky is generally seen as belonging to the Western-orientated Russian school, as indeed are most of his professional colleagues in Moscow, his musical art was not in fact very far removed from the ideals of the so-called ‘Mighty Five’ (or ‘Mighty Handful’.) In 1869 he met Balakirev, the actual founder of this national school in Petersburg. Balakirev recognized the young Tchaikovsky’s talent and would ideally have liked to include him in his group. But the greatest problem as he saw it was that Tchaikovsky had received a formal conservatoire education, and that clashed with his ideals of an uncultivated, original Russian music. Ernest Bloch belongs to the large group of twentieth-century composers who, though not wishing to be associated with the avant-garde, equally did not distance themselves from the latest developments. He studied violin and composition in his native city Geneva, and later in Brussels and Frankfurt. His early compositions reveal a great curiosity about everything that was new and unknown at the time: Wagnerian chromaticism, the orchestral expansivity of Richard Strauss, and then the subtle timbres of Debussy and the block chords of Stravinsky.

The Osiris Trio was formed in 1988. Since then, the trio has toured five continents and was twice given the honour to ac- company Her Majesty The Queen of The Netherlands on an official state visit abroad. Over the past 19 years, the group has won a number of Dutch awards, including the ‘Philip Morris Finest Selection’ award and the Annie Bosboom Prijs. Since 2001 the Osiris Trio is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Culture.

The trio’s discography emcompasses two centuries of re- pertoire for piano trio but also includes songcycles and the highly regarded recording of Messiaens Quatuor pour la fin du temps that earned the highest rating (10 out of 10) in the Dutch music magazine Luister. The Dutch newspaper Het Parool concluded its review of a CD with recently written Dutch piano trios by stating “premium international quality.” A brand new recording of the Tchaikovsky piano trio Op. 50 will be rele ased in the fall of 2007.

Diversity typifies the group’s repertoire, which ranges from Haydn’s oeuvre for piano trio to works by contemporary composers. The production of KlasTorstenssons In großer Sehnsucht even brought the trio on stage in a theatrical set- ting. The Dutch Society of Concerthall and Theatre Managers recently nominated the Osiris Trio in the category “most im- pressive performances in chamber music.” Both Ellen Cor- ver and Larissa Groeneveld hold teaching positions at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. In 2005 violinist Vesko Eschkenazy, concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Or- chestra in Amsterdam since 2000, joined the trio and took the position of founding member Peter Brunt. Brunt however still supports the Osiris Trio in its educational and theatrical activities and in running its own chamber music festival.