The string trio is an imaginative alternative to its cousin the string quartet. No string lover will want to miss the formidable Amerigo Trio when it performs at the Phillips Collection as part of the museum’s 90th anniversary as America’s first museum of modern art. The ensemble is a remarkable collaboration of prize-winning artists: New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, his wife, violist Karen Dreyfus, and cellist Inbal Segev. All play on priceless antique instruments with rich, warm tones.
Although they are neighbors in New York City, they did not play together until 2007 when Segev replaced an injured cellist at the International Chamber Music Festival in Bowdoin, Maine. Since forming the trio two years later, they have performed at prestigious concert series and festivals, among them Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival in Virginia and the New York Chamber Music Festival.
| Onstage |
| The Amerigo Trio |
| Where: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. |
| When: 4 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $20 general admission, members $8; 202-387-3151 or phillipscollection.org/music. |
Segev fell in love with the cello while listening to one on the radio in her native Israel. The precocious 5-year-old grew up to make her professional debut at age 17 with the Berlin and Israel philharmonic orchestras under Zubin Mehta.
“The program we plan for the Phillips Collection stretches across three centuries,” she said. “Except for the Beethoven trio written in 1798, a wonderfully meaty staple, the other works are not well-known. Kodaly’s ‘Intermezzo,’ written in 1905, is playful and gentle, a very short piece that isn’t typical of him. The string trio Sibelius wrote in 1894 is one not many people have heard.”
When the Amerigo Trio is not performing together, its members pursue solo careers. As concertmaster of NYP, Dicterow is heard as soloist on many of its recordings and appears throughout the world as recitalist and orchestra soloist. Dreyfus is on several faculties and collaborates with numerous ensembles. Segev is the recipient of two new works, one a double percussion with a Middle Eastern flavor by Israeli composer Avner Dorman, the other by Argentinian composer Fernando Otero.
“I love them both,” Segev said. “Otero’s is short, jazzy and tango-infused. The first movement is angular, the second is simply beautiful, and the third starts with a big cello credenza. I look forward to playing them both and also to performing again in Washington with the Amerigo Trio when we come to the Dumbarton Church in March.”
