The string trio is often viewed, according to the hindsight of chamber music history, as a kind of minor sub-genre, a “quartet minus one.” We at The Vivaldi Project, however, propose that the 18th-century string quartet might more aptly be described as a “trio plus one.” The Classical string trio, as the successor to the immensely popular Baroque trio sonata (exemplified by Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries), would out-publish the string quartet in the 1760s by a ratio of more than 5 to 1. The resulting body of works includes more than 2000 trios from many of the century’s most revered and eminent composers. Volume 3 of our series, Discovering The Classical String Trio, continues to explore this vast and essentially unknown repertoire with seven newly recorded works—from the string trio’s early origins in Italy to its expression at the height of the Classical period in Vienna.

Praised for its brilliant and expressive playing, The Vivaldi Project, directed by Elizabeth Field and Stephanie Vial, is dedicated to presenting innovative programs of Baroque and Classical string repertoire that combine scholarship and performance to both educate and delight audiences. The period instrument ensemble takes its name from the virtuoso violinist and innovative composer Antonio Vivaldi in recognition of his pivotal position between earlier Baroque and later Classical composers (those well known and beloved as well as those rarely heard). The Vivaldi Project’s educational arm, The Institute for Early Music on Modern Instruments (EMMI), offers professional string players and advanced students the opportunity to study historical performance practices using their own modern instruments.

Violinist Elizabeth Field, distinguished for her passionate and stylistic playing on both period and modern instruments, is the founder of The Vivaldi Project. Field is concertmaster of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and also performs with a wide variety of ensembles throughout the United States, from Washington D.C.’s acclaimed Opera Lafayette to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with whom she recorded regularly for Deutsche Grammophon. On period instruments, she has recorded for the Dorian, Hungaroton, MSR and Naxos labels. She has held  professorships at Sacramento State University and the University of California at Davis, and has given master classes at universities across the country, including regular visits to The Curtis Institute. Field holds a DMA from Cornell University in 18th-century performance practice and is an adjunct professor at George Washington University. Her DVD with fortepianist Malcolm Bilson, Performing the Score, explores 18th-century violin and piano repertoire and has been acclaimed by Emanuel Ax as “truly inspiring” and “authoritative.”

Allison Edberg Nyquist’s violin playing has been described as impeccable, being both technically and musically superior. Nyquist has performed throughout North America, collaborating with many of the top Baroque ensembles, including  Chatham Baroque, The Washington Bach Consort, Haymarket Opera Company, Apollo’s Fire, Ensemble Voltaire and Third Coast Baroque. She has also served as concertmaster of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. Nyquist’s discography includes recordings for the Centaur, Delos, Eclectra and MSR labels. Artistic  Director of Music City Baroque in Nashville and adjunct professor of Baroque violin at the Blair School of Music, she also taught violin at Lawrence University, Ohio State University and Interlochen Arts Camp. In addition, she served as professor of viola at Indiana State University and DePauw University. Nyquist earned her degrees from the University of Michigan with Camilla Wicks and the Peabody Institute with Daniel Heifetz, and studied baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie at Indiana University.

Stephanie Vial, a widely respected cellist, praised for technical flair and expressive phrasing, performs regularly in early music ensembles throughout the United States. She has also given solo and chamber music concerts, lectures and master classes at numerous universities and institutions, including The Shrine to Music Museum in South Dakota, University of Virginia, Boston Conservatory, McGill University and Curtis Institute of Music. She has recorded for the Centaur, Dorian, MSR, Naxos and Hungaroton labels. Vial is the author of The Art of Musical Phrasing in the Eighteenth Century: Punctuating the Classical “Period,” published by the University of Rochester Press, and the creator of DancingwithBach.com, a video project exploring performance practice and the J.S. Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Vial is a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds a DMA in 18th-century performance practice from Cornell University where she studied with John Hsu.

The Vivaldi Project:
- Elizabeth Field (violin)
- Allison Nyquist (violin, viola)
- Stephanie Vial (cello)