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“Although all three showed their own distinctive personalities, their vividly wide-awake ensemble playing made for an electrifying interpretation that commanded the audience’s attention for every single second.“

Few descriptions capture the Amelio Trio better than this review from the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Their rapidly expanding international career has been shaped by major competition successes in recent years, including Second Prize at the ARD International Music Competition 2023 and the Grand Prize at the German Music Competition 2024. For the 2026/27 season, the Amelio Trio has been selected as ECHO Rising Star by the European Concert Hall Organisation, following nominations from the Kölner Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Barbican Centre London, and the Philharmonie du Luxembourg. This distinction includes an extensive tour through many of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls. Additional honours include the First Prize at the International Schumann Chamber Music Competition 2022, the Kammermusikpreis Hasselburg 2024, and the Hans Gál-Ensemble-Preis 2025, awarded by Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz in cooperation with the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz.

The trio’s story began in 2012, when violinist Johanna Schubert, cellist Merle Geißler and pianist Philipp Kirchner – then just 13 years old – first played together for the German youth competition Jugend musiziert. More than a decade later, having spent over half their lives as an ensemble, their bond on stage is unmistakable, captivating audiences with seamless interplay, stylistic versatility, and a distinctive musical energy – born of a deep artistic connection developed over many years.

The Amelio Trio performs regularly throughout Germany and across Europe at venues including Wigmore Hall London, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Prinzregententheater Munich, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. The 2026/27 season will include debut appearances at the Musikverein Vienna and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, among many others. Alongside the Classical and Romantic repertoire, the trio is deeply committed to contemporary music. By frequently commissioning new works and giving world premieres by composers such as Helena Winkelman, Johannes X. Schachtner, Birke Bertelsmeier, and Tsotne Zedginidze, they actively contribute to the ongoing expansion of the piano trio repertoire, while at the same time exploring new expressive possibilities and refining their own personal artistic language.

The trio’s debut album Time in Flux was released in September 2025 on GENUIN classics in collaboration with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, featuring works by Ives, Beethoven, Mamlok, Brahms and Bertelsmeier. A second album will follow in autumn 2026 on Hänssler Classic.

The members of the Amelio Trio receive generous support through scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, the Deutsche Orchesterstiftung, and the Cusanuswerk. Johanna and Merle perform on historic Italian instruments kindly made available to them on loan: Johanna plays a violin by Lorenzo Storioni (Cremona, 1779) from the Deutsche Musikinstrumentenfonds, while Merle performs on a fine Italian cello from a private owner.

2026