“…a real trio sound and spirit.”
Vincent Coq (Trio Wanderer, pianist)
“We were stunned at how this young Japanese trio produced something spectacular.”
Stefan Mendl (Vienna Piano Trio, pianist)
“Their expression in their performance makes them sound more mature than their actual age in their 20s.”
Record Geijutsu, August 2020
Only five times in history, the ARD international music competition has awarded the first prize for piano trios. Aoi Trio won this prestigious first prize in 2018, which made a breathtaking start to their international career.
Aoi Trio was founded in 2016 by Kyoko Ogawa (violin), Yu Ito (cello), and Kosuke Akimoto (piano), all of whom graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts and studied at the renowned Chamber Music Academy of Suntory Hall (Tokyo) for 2 years.
In the season 2019-2020 Aoi Trio toured in Japan having 21 concerts in total performing at such prestigious venues as Suntory Hall, Kioi Hall, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and Toppan Hall. In Europe, they appeared in several cities and festivals including Munich (Herkulessaal), Bayreuth, Baden-Baden, Cologne and Musiktage Hitzacker.
Highlights of the season 2020-21 include recitals at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Musikverein Regensburg and numerous venues in Japan (the Phoenix Hall, Biwako Hall and others) as well as a collaboration with Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and Matthias Bamert for Beethoven’s triple concerto.
Aoi Trio has released two recordings “Haydn No. 27 and Schubert No. 2” and “Beethoven No. 1 and Mendelssohn No. 2” which have attracted great critical acclaim. They received the Aoyama Music Award and Nippon Steel Music Award.
“Aoi” refers to the initial letters of their individual family names and is also the name of a flower in Japanese language, which is commonly known as ‘hollylock” in Europe and symbolises “aspiration” or “fruitfulness.”
Since April 2019, they are based in Germany and currently study with Dirk Mommertz (Fauré Quartett) at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.