Korimako Piano Trio: fine musicians in thoughtful accord

The Korimako Piano Trio in Waikanae (from left) Rolf Gjelsten, Michael Endres and Helene Pohl

Photo supplied

Aotearoa New Zealand has a new chamber ensemble. The Korimako Piano Trio, a collaboration between violinist Helene Pohl, cellist Rolf Gjelsten and pianist Michael Endres, was launched in Wellington late last year. This week, the Trio presented the first concert of its 2026 season for the Waikanae Music Society, attracting a large audience.

Like their November launch concert – and with some of the same repertoire – it was an auspicious debut. These three artists are seasoned chamber musicians, Pohl and Gjelsten after thirty successful years with the New Zealand String Quartet and Endres, German-born and now based in Canterbury, with a distinguished national and international career as soloist and collaborative pianist. The three have played together over recent years and share a thoughtful musicality that reveals new insights into the music and a deep dedication to the expression of a wide range of musical styles and periods.

In their Waikanae concert it was clear that this new Trio means business. Their natural rapport and fine sense of ensemble were evident at once in Haydn’s Piano Trio in E Major Hob. XV:28. The three-movement work is one of great invention and artful simplicity, Haydn’s surprise moves delightful and intriguing.

Endres has told me more than once how much he loves the responsive and subtle colours of the Waikanae Society’s beautiful Fazioli piano, and this Trio showed off his relaxed and lovely pianism, Haydn giving the keyboard the lion’s share of the action in the first movement, with the strings in nicely judged pizzicato or singing bowed accompaniment.

More surprises are found in the unusual short 2nd movement, which opens with an atmospheric and chromatic Baroque-style bass line, played by all three musicians in octaves before developing with little quirky figures above. The sprightly third movement is a cheerful contrast, and again showed off the Korimako’s fine ensemble work, with characterful playing and real passion and intensity as the music heads to a final flourish.  

Korimako Piano Trio

“…fine ensemble work and characterful playing.”

Image credit: Rowena Cullen

Schubert’s Notturno in E flat D897 for piano trio was published posthumously, a gorgeous and romantic slow movement that allows musicians and audience to wallow unashamedly in its melodic beauties. Again, the piano is featured, the lines sometimes wistful and plaintive, with the two string players, so attuned to each other, offering remarkable unanimity in subtly inflected playing. The piece returns to the opening melody with delicious little piano trills singing above, bird-like in their whimsy.

There’s nothing sweetly indulgent about Aaron Copland’s Vitebsk which followed. The most adventurous choice in the programme, it offers a stark contrast to the two previous works. Copland based the work, written in 1928, on a Jewish theme, and used daring quarter-tones and major/minor opposition to express the pain and sadness of the times. There’s some dark humour too, as the music becomes an ironic and frenetic dance. Is this a reference to the ‘roaring twenties’ or a sense of running from troubled times through biting dissonance into a terrifying future?

When the original tune returns after a sudden silence the playing was deeply felt, slow and intense, the piano passionate, with lovely resonant string playing from Pohl and Gjelsten in turn before all dies away.

After the interval, we were treated to Brahms big Piano Trio in C major, Op. 87. These three musicians have a deep understanding of Brahms’ chamber music, with its dense textures and emotional range and delighted the audience with both their playing and their interpretative accord. Although the Korimako Trio is a new ensemble, they feel already like an established group, their musical rapport and dynamic unity finding all the passion in the big first movement and revealing the textural variety of the gypsy-flavoured theme and variations of the second. Some variations are almost fierce in their forthright style, and the musicians also made the most of nice conversational exchanges between different instrumental groupings.

The Korimako Piano Trio acknowledges enthusiastic applause from the Waikanae Music Society audience

Photo supplied

The Waikanae Memorial Hall has a challenging, fairly dry acoustic which offers less resonance to string instruments, the violin perhaps disadvantaged at times. But after the rapid momentum of the Scherzo all came together nicely in the final Allegro Giocoso, these accomplished musicians ensuring that, in spite of the speedy tempo and forthright strength of the music, nice subtleties were not lost.

The enthusiastic audience demanded an encore and were well-pleased with a charming song arrangement by Schumann.

Korimako Piano Trio Helene Pohl, violin, Rolf Gjelsten, cello, Michael Endres, piano, Waikanae Music Society, March 8, 2026.

You can read more about the Korimako Trio, check out their 2026 national concert schedule and join their mailing list here.