A French Connection Will Jump Start The Spring 2010 Season For Newtown Friends Of Music

The Paris Piano Trio — violinist Régis Pasquier, cellist Roland Pidoux, and pianist Jean-Claude Pennetier, known in Europe simply as “Les Musiciens” — will appear in concert on Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 14, at 3 pm, at Edmond Town Hall, as part of the Newtown Friends of Music’s 32nd season.

In addition to the performance, members of Alliance Française of Northwestern Connecticut have booked a block of tickets and have arranged for a wine and cheese reception in the glorious Dana-Holcombe House for a small additional charge. All Francophiles, music lovers, NFoM subscribers and guests are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to exchange pleasantries or serious musical discussions in French or in English with the artists following the performance.

The Paris Piano Trio was last heard in Newtown in November 2005 and elicited the highest praise and a standing ovation.

Noted for their “polish, vigor, and an exemplary sense of style” (The Washington Post), these three great French soloists have been connected by their love of chamber music since they were students at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris. In fact, they made their first tour together when Régis Pasquier was just 13 years old. Prize-winners individually, each graduated with top honors from the Conservatory, where they are now distinguished professors, and rapidly established major solo and chamber music careers of almost legendary proportions.

The program for the Valentine’s Day concert will open with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Trio in E Major, K542 and Ravel’s Trio in A minor. Following intermission the trio will perform Franz Schubert’s Trio in B-flat Major, Op 99, D898.

Tickets are $20. Students grades K through 12 are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

The box office will open one hour before the start of the concert. Parking is free behind Edmond Town Hall, at 45 Main Street, and the facility is handicap accessible with all seating providing excellent viewing and acoustics. An informal reception following the concert will offer concert goers the opportunity to mingle with the artists in the lobby of the town hall.

For tickets to this concert or additional information concerning the remainder of NFoM’s 2009-10 season, write to Newtown Friends of Music, PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295, or visit NewtownFriendsOfMusic.org.

Advance reservations are strongly recommended for this concert; call 203-426-6470.