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Homeward bound

Gemini Piano Trio's Homecoming Concert tour is a journey through time and space. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF TAIWAN

Benjamin C. Myers says performing classical music is a matter of the musician interpreting a piece of music. Myers sits comfortably on a couch in a rehearsal studio with his wife Wang Hsiu-hui (王琇慧) and his brother-in-law (Hsui-hui's younger brother) Wang Sheng-tsung (王聖琮). Together, they make up the Gemini Piano Trio, a group of chamber musicians who begin a three-concert tour of Taiwan tomorrow at the National Recital Hall.

"Every composition can be seen as a kind of story or even a recipe," Myers said. "How you use the recipe determines how good a program you can cook up."

And what a recipe it is. The program begins with Beethoven's Piano Trio in D Major, a work from his middle period, which Myers call's "the sweet spot of Beethoven's music." Then it's onto some South American flair with three tangos by the recently popular Astor Piazzolla. The program concludes with Dvorak's Piano Trio in E Minor.

Though the program can be interpreted as a musical journey through space and time, the real story is the brother and sister team who are making their first appearance in Taiwan since Gemini Piano Trio formed in 1994.

Performance notes: What: Gemini Piano Trio Homecoming Concert Where: National Recital Hall, Taipei City (tomorrow), the Hsinchu Municipal Performance Hall (新竹市立演藝廳), 17, Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號) on Sunday and Monday's performance is at Chang Jung University Convention Hall (長榮大學國際會議廳) 396, Changjung St Sec 1, Gueiren Township, Tainan County (台南縣歸仁鄉長榮路一段396號) When: Tomorrow 7:30pm, Sunday 2:30pm and Monday at 6:30pm Tickets: Tickets for Sunday and Monday's performances are NT$200 and NT$300 and are available through NTCH ticketing Details: Listening samples can be found at www.geminipianotrio.com

"My earliest music training was in Taiwan and so that's my foundation before I went to the US," said Wang Hsui-hui. "Most of my family members are still here, so this is home for me," she added.

At the age of 19 she played from memory the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Not only is this astounding because of the difficulty of Bach's music, but also because it takes two and a half hours to perform the work.

Starting later than his sister, Wang Sheng-tsung wasted no time in learning the violin. By 13, he had already given a highly acclaimed solo debut with Germany's Bremen Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he won first prize at the Marbury Violin Competition and recently joined the "President's Own," a Marine Chamber Orchestra that plays for the US president.

"All these years my relatives heard about me playing the violin but they never had a chance to see me in concert," Wang Sheng-tsung said. "So for me to come back as a … violinist is very special."

Myers has also led a distinguished performing career. In 1987, he won a competition to play cello with the famed Emerson String Quartet and since then has given three Carnegie Hall performances. Music Monthly called one of Myers performances "riveting and delightful to behold."
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