Reference Recordings is pleased to announce Dvořák’s Circle, our third album with this elite trio. The Hermitage Piano Trio consists of violinist Misha Keylin, cellist Sergey Antonov, and pianist Ilya Kazantsev. The trio has been praised for its “polished and spirited interpretations” (The Washington Post), “absolute rhythmic precision and dynamic exuberance” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), and “powerful, intelligent and deeply moving performances” (The Seattle Times). Their album Rachmaninoff on our label was nominated for three 2020 Grammy Awards in the following categories:
∙ Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
∙ Best Engineered Album, Classical
∙ Producer Of The Year, Classical

Their second album, Spanish Impressions, included works by Arbós, Turina, Cassadó and Perelló and received broad critical acclaim. Gramophone praised the Trio’s “impeccably dovetailed phrasing and hair-trigger rhythmic unanimity, ... State-of-the-art production values” and Stereophile noted “the Hermitage Piano Trio sounds right at home with the color and verve of this music. ... intrigue, longing, and seduction, you can virtually hear castanets.”

In Dvořák’s Circle, the trio brings together the musical and personal connections between Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) and two composers he taught, mentored and who became family: Josef Suk (1874–1935) and Rudolf Friml (1879–1972).

The album was produced by Grammy winners Victor and Marina A. Ledin of Encore Consultants. It was recorded in April 2023 by Reference Recordings’ own Grammy-winning and multi-nominated engineering team of Sean Royce Martin and Keith O. Johnson, at Skywalker Sound’s Scoring Stage in Marin County, California.

2026 marks the 50th Anniversary of Reference Recordings, one of the most innovative and respected independent labels in the music business. Reference Recordings releases have been highly praised for their dedication to high quality sound in the service of great music. After more than 200 projects and many Grammy awards and nominations, RR’s first and second-generation team continues recording and releasing what many consider to be the finest-sounding classical, jazz and blues albums in the world.