Neave Trio Releases Newest Album, "La Mer"

The Neave Trio has released their newest album, La Mer. Comprised of violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura, the album was recorded on July 23-25, 2024, at Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk, England. This release marks the trio's seventh release from Chandos Records and continues the ensemble’s mission of curating recordings with rich thematic focus — a pursuit that earned them a GRAMMY® nomination for Musical Remembrances in 2022.

La Mer features Camille Saint-Saëns' Trio Op. 92 No. 2 in E minor, Mel Bonis' Soir-Matin Op. 76, and Claude Debussy's La Mer arranged by Sally Beamish. The album's name derives from Debussy's three-movement symphonic work.

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Beamish shared that she strove to “reinvent Debussy's orchestral score with the piano trio in mind… This meant exploring what strings and piano can do in terms of texture and concentrating on idiomatic and natural techniques.” By studying and recreating Debussy's colors and textures, Beamish produced an arrangement that presents a new perspective of the work.

“La Mer is a meditation on the sea – its power, fragility, and timeless mystery,” shared the Neave Trio. ”At a time when the ocean is more than ever at the center of our global consciousness, we were drawn to music that explores, whether overtly or in more subtle ways, the sea’s emotional and atmospheric depths. Sally Beamish’s masterful arrangement of Debussy’s La Mer for piano trio anchors the album – preserving the vast scope and color of the original while offering an intimate and transparent new lens.”

Listen to Debussy's Jeux de vagues​ below:

In addition to La Mer, the album includes Saint-Saëns’ Piano Trio No. 2, dating from 1892. The work took over five years to complete, going through several revisions before Saint-Saëns was finally satisfied. Mel Bonis’s two pieces, Soir and Matin, combine Romanticism and Impressionism, juxtaposing cantabile melody with chromatic and harmonic complexity.

Formed in 2010, the Neave Trio is currently the Ensemble-in-Residence at Virginia Commonwealth University. Committed to championing new works by living composers, the trio has premiered Robert Paterson’s Triple Concerto with the Mostly Modern Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta and participated in D-Cell: an Exhibition & Durational Performance, directed by multi-disciplinary visual artist David Michalek.

The trio’s latest venture, Rising — created in partnership with Pigeonwing Dance, composer Robert Sirota, and choreographer Gabrielle Lamb — is a multidisciplinary meditation on the climate crisis, exploring humanity’s relationship with the ocean through movement and sound.