Trio Gaspard

Nicholas Rimmer | Piano
Jonian Ilias Kadesha | Violin
Vashti Hunter | Violoncello

“The Gaspard Trio offers compelling performances, demonstrating a complete mastery of this repertoire.”

Trio Gaspard has championed the entire breadth of piano trio repertoire to become one of the most sought-after trios of its generation, praised for its unique and fresh approach to the score. As well as exploring well-known classics, the players work with contemporary composers and research seldom played masterpieces, sharing their discoveries with audiences at prestigious venues around the world. Their curiosity for uncovering repertoire has led to recent performances of Ethyl Smyth’s Piano Trio in D minor at the BBC Proms, broadcast live by the BBC, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s rarely performed Présence: Ballet Blanc, alongside dancer Luka Fritsch.

Committed to new music, the trio has launched an extensive project to commission composers such as Olli Mustonen, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Helena Winkelman, Sally Beamish, Kit Armstrong, Johannes Fischer and Leonid Gorokhov to write companion pieces to Haydn’s piano trios. Their debut project with Chandos pairs these new works with Haydn’s originals. The fourth volume, released in 2025, received high praise – The Strad commended the trio for its “mastery of the music and the musicians.” Alongside their Haydn recordings, the players have launched a CD series of Stories, focusing on different European cultural capitals and the composers associated with them. Berlin Stories was released in 2023, with music by Mendelssohn, Juon and Skalkottas, which earned five stars from BBC Music Magazine and The Strad. Current instalments are focusing on Prague and Budapest.

Trio Gaspard is regularly invited to major international concert halls including Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Boulez Saal, Essen Philharmonie and Salle Molière in Lyon. Highlights also include a debut tour of Australia (2024), tours across Sweden and Germany, a residency at London’s Wigmore Hall, and performances at Kuhmo Festival (Finland), Beethovenfest Bonn and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Founded in 2010, the trio’s members hail from Germany, Greece and the UK. They studied at the European Chamber Music Academy, under Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet), Ferenc Rados, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Jérôme Pernoo and Peter Cropper (Lindsay Quartet), as well as with Hatto Beyerle. They were Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Northern College of Music (2017–19) and won first and special prizes at the Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition, International Haydn Chamber Music Competition and International Chamber Music Competition in Illzach, France.

All musicians are also successfully pursuing their careers as soloists. 

Short biographies

Nicholas Rimmer | Piano

has already performed on renowned stages such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Munich’s Gasteig, Zurich’s Tonhalle and Berlin’s Philharmonie and as a soloist and chamber musician at renowned festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein, Schwetzingen, Ludwigsburg, Grafenegg and Heidelberg. His CD recording with Nils Mönkemeyer was awarded the ECHO KLASSIK in 2009, and his recording of Rihm’s complete works for violin and piano with Tianwa Yang received the Diapason d’Or, the Pizzicato Supersonic Award and the International Record Review ‘Outstanding’ Award. Rimmer studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover with Christopher Oakden. Since 2020, Rimmer has held a professorship in piano at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He is a member of the Belli-Fischer-Rimmer trio in the unique and experimental instrumentation of trombone-percussion-piano.

Jonian Ilias Kadesha | Violin

is pursuing a successful career as a soloist and has already performed with renowned orchestras such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Russian State Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir András Schiff, the London Mozart Players and the Aurora Orchestra. He is keen to expand the standard repertoire and can be heard, for example, with the Skalkottas Violin Concerto, Hillborg’s Bach Materia or the world premiere of Giovanni Sollima’s Tyche. Kadesha studied at the Kronberg Academy with Antje Weithaas and is a laureate of international violin competitions. He is also a member of the Kelemen Quartet and co-founder of the Caerus Chamber Ensemble. Since 2023 he is professor at Bern Academy of the Arts.

Vashti Hunter | Violoncello

enjoys a diverse career as a soloist and chamber musician and is a regular guest at leading music festivals and concert halls such as the Wigmore Hall, the Rudolfinum Prague, the Salle Moliere Lyon, the Berlin Philharmonie and Pierre Boulez Hall, among others. She studied in London and Hannover with Leonid Gorokhov and in Berlin with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. A significant influence has been cellist Steven Isserlis, with whom she studied for many years at IMS Prussia Cove. Vashti Hunter is now a professor herself at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität Vienna. Before that she held this position at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz and at the Hochschule für Musik und Medien in Hannover. Vashti Hunter is also a member of the renowned Kelemen Quartet.

Season 2025/2026 | Photos: Andrej Grilc | Quote: The Strad, April 2025
Amendments or edits need the consent of Künstlersekretariat Astrid Schoerke GmbH

Sally Beamish: TRANCE – Trio Gaspard

Haydn: The Complete Piano Trios, Vol. 2 – Trio Gaspard

Haydn: The Complete Piano Trios, Vol. 1 – Trio Gaspard

Haydn: Trio in G Major XV:25, “Gypsy” III. Presto – Trio Gaspard

Beethoven, Turnage & Ravel – Debut @ Berlin Philharmonie

Schubert: Piano Trio in E-flat Major op. 100 – Trio Gaspard

B. A. Zimmermann: “Présence” Ballet blanc en cinq scènes – Trio Gaspard & Luka Fritsch