Prometheus Trio Plumbs the Depths of ‘Incredible and Sometimes Unusual Repertoire’

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Photo Credit: Jennifer Brindley

Though Milwaukee’s fine classical chamber music ensemble, Prometheus Trio, has been around for some two decades, ensconced in the Helen Bader Recital Hall of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (WCM) on the city’s East Side, you might not be all that familiar with them. It’s time, therefore, on the eve of their next concert, to get to know pianist Stephanie Jacob, cellist Scott Tisdel and violinist Margot Schwartz much better.

“The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music had a history of having a resident piano trio; notably, the New Arts Trio, then continuing as the Eastman and then the Paganini,” recalls Jacob. “So, we were really continuing an already established tradition. We started our first season with three concerts, playing each only once; we decided to do four programs in our second season. By that second season, we were selling out regularly (it is a very small hall, so that’s not as impressive a feat as one might imagine). So, we started doing double performances, which we continue to do.”

“Stefanie had the idea 20 years ago of starting the trio through the Conservatory as a way of celebrating the completion of a multi-million-dollar renovation of the historic McIntosh/Goodrich Mansion, where WCM resides,” says Tisdel. “Since WCM had sponsored many chamber ensembles in the past, it was a pretty easy sell to the president at the time, Joyce Altman. Stefanie and I are the original members, and Margot Schwartz has been our violinist for the past five years.”

“When I joined the Prometheus Trio, my knowledge of the piano trio repertoire was somewhat limited,” Schwartz confesses. “The experience during those first years was (and continues to be) equally intimidating as it was exhilarating, knowing how familiar ‘S & S’ were with so many of these pieces, while I was diving in for the first time! However, even with the most standard repertoire, I’ve always appreciated how eager they are to consider another perspective. Since day one, I have loved playing in this trio. It is such a perfect complement to my role in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO), as it gives me an opportunity to exercise a little more artistic freedom and affords me a chance to learn all of this incredible (and sometimes unusual!) repertoire.”

Striking Just the Right Balance

It is precisely that “incredible and sometimes unusual repertoire” that the Prometheus Trio excels at. We should also add “unfamiliar” to that list of adjectives, as the trio certainly likes to move well beyond the big-name composers and chamber music’s greatest hits and delve deeply into somewhat obscure music that, it is fair to say, a great many people living today have never heard before—least likely of all in live performance. A look ahead to their next concert finds works by two household names—Joseph Haydn and Felix Mendelssohn—but also Franz Doppler, Bohuslav Martinů and Elliott Carter.

“We try to find a balance in each program (as well as over the course of a season) between the familiar and well-loved and the pieces that challenge us, as well as challenging our audiences,” Jacob explains. “Our listeners trust us; they know that there will be at least one piece on the program that will stretch them, but there will also be the musical equivalent of absolutely delicious comfort food.”

“There are many good reasons for our ‘obscure’ repertoire,” Tisdel says. “One is out of necessity, in that our core repertoire (Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, Antonín Dvořák, etc.) is relatively small, at least in comparison to the string quartet or symphony. If we played nothing but this repertoire, we would be doing way too much recycling, and I think our audience would get bored. Second, and more important, we believe that there is great music being written right now, and it is our duty as musicians to discover it and give it a hearing.

“Such an approach does not come without risks, but I will say that every piece we perform, we all believe in and is worth our audience’s time and attention,” Tisdel continues. “The risk comes in when we listen to and like a piece, then get the music and realize how difficult it is. Such was the case with the Timo Andres Piano Trio (2018) we played in October, which I think we performed successfully but nearly killed ourselves doing it! Likewise, the Carter Enchanted Preludes for Flute and Cello [in our next concert] is, at times, extremely complicated, yet it is such a fascinating and uniquely coloristic piece that I think our audience will be ‘enchanted’ listening to it, and it is fully worth the effort to learn it.”

Featuring prominently in the Prometheus Trio’s concert will be flutist Heather Zinninger Yarmel. “Heather has been in the MSO for three or four years, and I’ve always loved her playing,” says Tisdel. “When I played a Milwaukee Musaik concert with her, that kind of sealed the deal; I knew she would be a great fit for our group. Also, there is some great repertoire for flute that I really wanted to program, and luckily, Heather agreed to play. The Doppler I found on YouTube and is basically a showy flute piece but a very attractive one. It is also one of the few pieces for our complete compliment of players (flute, violin, cello and piano), so we had to find a place for it!”

The Prometheus Trio and guest flutist Heather Zinninger Yarmel perform Joseph Haydn’s Flute Trio in G Major, Franz Doppler’s Nocturne, Op. 19, Bohuslav Martinů’s Sonata for Flute, Violin and Piano, Elliott Carter’s Enchanted Preludes for Flute and Cello and Felix Mendelssohn’s Trio in D Minor, Op. 49, Dec. 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the McIntosh/Goodrich Mansion, 1584 N. Prospect Ave. For tickets, call 414-276-5760 or visit wcmusic.org/concerts-events/prometheus-trio.