DISCS
	Ropartz - Rhené-Bâton Trio Hochelaga • Trios avec Piano Musique française « Découvertes 1890-1939 », vol. III
"Canada's Trio Hochelaga offers an ideal performance of these two trios (Ropartz and Rhené-Bâton), distinguished equally by the beauty and balance of the sonorities as by the generosity and rightness of the conception." Jean Roy, Le monde de la musique, France, July-August 2008 *   *   * "We owe the Trio Hochelaga a great debt of thanks for unearthing these two wonderful selections, which they perform to perfection. No wonder they're considered one of Canada's best chamber music ensembles! What's more, the recorded sound is quite good, making for a disc that's worth investigating." Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found Classical Releases Of Current Key Significance (CROCKS), October 2007

Théodore Dubois Works for Piano and Strings, Vol. 1 and 2

“Irreproachable Interpretation! Dubois' music is in the best of hands with the young Trio Hochelaga. The Canadian musicians please with their tender, flexible, and feather-light playing, which perfectly suits the classical structure of these works. Their ensemble is precise and intonation sure. Happily, such technical finesse does not lead to emotional reserve: the right amount of Romantic effusiveness is also present, creating a lively and warm performance. The sound is supported by a remarkably balanced and clear recording which ensures a perfect sound perspective. One eagerly awaits the rest of the series.” Christian Vitalis, www.klassik.com, Germany, October 2006 *   *   * "It is a Great plesure to hear such fine music from an unexpected source. The playing is lovely, the recorded sound excellent." D. Moore, American Record Guide, États-Unis, 2007 *   *   * "Glory in Canada ! The recording in progress of the complete chamber music works of Dubois is a laudable idea and a rediscovery of importance. One cannot dream of a more perfect match between the elegance and virtuosity of the performers and the scores, which are as refined in their balance of different planes as in the sensuality of their sound." Politique magazine, Paris, October 2007

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Théodore Dubois Works for Piano and Strings, Vol. 1

“Trio Hochelaga displays evident affection, contagious enthusiasm and exemplary technique, and the sound recording is clear and vivid. A real discovery!” Claude Gingras, La Presse, Montreal, 2006 *   *   * "The Trio Hochelaga addresses the discrete teaching of Dubois with rigour and perfect suppleness, navigating through page upon page of dramatic outbursts and visionary brushstrokes, which the inspired pen of the composer gathered together in an atmosphere so full of presence and revolutions." E.B. Il Cittadino, Italie, March 2008 *   *   * "The musicians of the Trio Hochelaga have been making a name for themselves as the exceptionally poised Trio Hochelaga since 2000. They are making a specialty of neglected French repertoire. On this disc, they make a strong case for the whipping-cream magic of Theodore Dubois (1837-1924), a bestselling Victorian era composer who is now forgotten (except for a few sacred works). The selection of pieces here, including two Piano Trios, is melodic, sweet and light as meringue. A fabulous find."   John Terauds, Toronto Star, March 2006 *   *   * "A perfectly rendered portrait of Théodore Dubois by the Canadian ensemble Trio Hochelaga." ABC de las Artes y las Letras, Espagne, 25 August 2006

Pierné - Fauré Gabriel Pierné - Piano Trio, op. 45 Gabriel Fauré - Piano Trio, op.120

“Hochelaga is the original name of the city of Montreal in the Iroquois language. One could not be more Canadian than this trio, which, given the quality and rightness of its interpretations, is one of the closest to the spirit of French music. The three musicians reveal to us a work, the Trio in C minor op. 45 of Gabriel Pierné, which is most likely one of composer’s most accomplished creations. This trio was first premiered on February 11, 1922 at the Société nationale de musique by Pierné, Georges Enesco and Gérard Hekking. It is a work whose opening, marked ‘Agitated, in movement and feeling’, impresses by its intensity and grandeur. The second movement, by contrast, is nothing but lightness and smiles. The last movement, a set of variations, showcases in the most pleasing manner the richness of Gabriel Pierné’s writing. Better known, Fauré’s Trio opus 120 is also one of the most precarious to perform. It requires a balance between understatement and firmness which is difficult to achieve. Trio Hochelaga, with sounds as beautiful as they are well-balanced, always finds the right tone, and if the group reveals the Pierné trio to us, it is by giving it all the care due to a masterpiece. One will never repeat often enough, something for which we must be grateful to the three Canadian musicians, that Pierné was not only one of the most appealing of 20th-century French musicians, but also one of the most happily inspired.” Jean Roy, Le Monde de la musique, No 299, France, June 2005 *   *   * "The musicians of the Trio Hochelaga share the same degree of virtuosity and a common sensitivity to ensemble that makes the music speak. Beyond respecting the text, and with an optimal balance and very pleasing group sound, the Trio plays in a manner which successfully renders the quintessential essence of the composition. The trio by Fauré is of another vein; the first movement, which is very serious but equally luminous, is followed by an Andantino which is absolutely sublime, in turn followed by a final movement of a more jubilant tone. Here again the Trio Hochelaga distinguishes itself by an acuteness of emotion, an irreproachable sense of style and a remarkable technical proficiency." Marcel Louis, Magazine Pizzicato, Luxembourg, January 2006 *   *   * "A very interesting CD. Both works are beautifully interpreted by the excellent Trio Hochelaga; a Canadian ensemble from Quebec which gives exquisite performances of this chamber music repertoire." Scherzo, Espagne, December 2005

• Montfort Hall, Leicester, England - Celebrity Concert in the Garden Suite

“This, and the surrounding Haydn trio no 42 and Mendelssohn C minor trio showed refined and expert chamber music playing, each member alert to the others' playing, and perfectly in scale at such and intimate venue.”

• Tabaret Hall of the University of Ottawa - annual series

“The highlight of the afternoon was Mendelssohn's Trio no. 1 in D minor in a big, bold reading that brought out the work's nearly symphonic dimensions. It was a continuously passionate performance. Even in the Scherzo the musicians resisted the temptation to sprinkle the music with fairy dust as so many trios do.”

• Agassiz Chamber Music Festival

" WE'VE been hearing plenty of Trio Hochelaga on CBC Radio. It was  time to hear them in person.

Gwenda Nemerofsky, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg

• Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival

“[…] an exciting concert by Montreal's Trio Hochelaga. The performance was enthusiastic, polished and persuasive.”

“[…] Trio Hochelaga played like an absolutely top-ranking ensemble. […] To begin the concert, the Hochelaga, avid of discoveries, had found a trio by Théodore Dubois, […] a 25 minute work in four movements, solidly crafted, with ideas often interesting and even new for their time. [Their] performance was not only very well rehearsed. They also played with real fervor, and even a certain pathos which is completely idiomatic to this music from the 1900s. […] Their reading of the Ravel [Trio] was no less impressive: always exact and refined, with perfect tonal balance, a kind a mystery in the opening and a very expressive low register in the piano in the passage which presents the Passacaille’s theme.

To complete this French program: the first of Fauré’s  two piano quartets. This is no doubt Fauré’s most captivating chamber work, and the performance of Trio Hochelaga with violist Eugelmi confirmed it once again. Generously unified, the four voices sang their Fauré with as much gravity as joy.”

• Concert with the Tokyo New City Orchestra and Agnès Grossmann

“[…] Beethoven’s Triple Concerto was performed by the members of Trio Hochelaga with wonderful cohesiveness and an impressive sense of musical dialogue.”

Shingo Nagasaki, Ongaku Gendai Magazine, Japan