Eon Trio

A bit delayed with this one, but on June 13 at the Stock Exchange of Thailand I had the great pleasure of attending a concert by the Eon Trio. The ensemble is comprised of Christopher Janwong McKiggan (piano - Thai/English), Ekachai Maskularat (cello - Thai), and Qiang Xiaoxiao (violin -  Chinese), all young players still in conservatory. Christopher studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, while Ekachai and Qiang study at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. The trio demonstrated the highest caliber of strictly Western classical playing I've come across in Bangkok this year, and if any of the musicians decide to make Thailand their base after graduation, they will surely be hot items, with universities and orchestras likely already eyeing them. There has been a lot of talk among musicians and presenters anticipating "the next generation" here. A handful of new ensembles and concert series are now in tact, providing more options for players and audiences alike,  but many think the coming years will see a sharp increase in the quality of the work presented, as the first wave of Thai musicians studying abroad at prestigious conservatories on scholarships from Princess Galyani's Fund for Classical Music and the first graduates of the Pre-College and College of Music at Mahidol make their way onto the Bangkok scene. We'll see (or, rather, others will because I'm leaving in 3 weeks), but if the Eon Trio is any indication, the "next generation" is already sounding pretty good. 

The program was smart, introducing me to two composers that I'm looking forward to listening to more of. Gaspor Cassado's 1926 Piano Trio in C Major was written in the tradition of de Falla and Ravel (two of his teachers), but this piece I think has a little more edge, dashing Spain with a little more Vienna than Paris. Swiss composer Frank Martin's Piano Trio on Popular Irish Folk Tunes may well be a new favorite chamber work for me, I'd love to have the chance to play it. The piece was written in 1925, the same period as the Cassado work and as the program notes point out, a time when every composer had his or her own interpretation of "folk". Martin's piece totally defies expectations though, making what could have been a basic exercise in transcription and adaptation into a wondrously complicated work. The Eon players handled it all with aplomb and élan. After intermission, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66 brought the program to a rousing close, though the ensemble topped themselves with what I think was a Piazzolla encore. It was one of those concerts you didn't want to end. As a cellist I was sort of in awe of Ekachai's talent, as a chamber musician I was impressed and put at ease by the great communication between the players, and as a plain old audience member I just really enjoyed what I heard and saw.