Morgenstern Piano Trio

Named after the popular nineteenth century German poet Christian Morgenstern, the Morgenstern Trio was formed in 2005, while Catherine Klipfel, Stefan Hempel, and Emanuel Wehse, were students at the Folkwang Conservatory in Essen, Germany. After only a few short years of working together, the Morgenstern Trio emerged on the German music scene by being awarded top prizes and awards, such as first prize at the International Joseph Haydn Competition in Vienna, followed by two second prizes: at the Fifth Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and the prestigious “ARD Competition in Munich”, where they also received the audience prize.

In 2010, the Morgenstern Trio won the prestigious Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio Award in the USA. This prize catapulted them onto the music scene in the USA with performances in Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center and at Carnegie Hall and other venues in NY, followed by concerts in such cities as Chicago, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Carmel, Louisville, Lexington, to Palm Beach, where they received superlative reviews and immediate re-invitations for following seasons.

The Morgenstern Trio was also selected by the ECHO (the European Concert Hall Organization) as a “Rising Star” which gave them debut concerts at important European concert venues during the 2009-2010 season, in cities such as Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Cologne, Brussels, Birmingham and Stockholm to name a few.