Tetzlaff and Friends: Three's Company | BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert

Virtuoso violinist Christian Tetzlaff is first among equals in a concert of piano trios by Dvorák and Schumann.

A piano trio isn’t what you might think. Take a piano, add a violin and a cello and the result is a whole new world of melody and expression. It sounds glorious too, and never more than in these two wonderfully tuneful trios by two of the 19th century’s most uninhibited composers. Get ready for grand passions, tender moments and exuberant dance-tunes: the ensemble might be small but the emotions are off the scale.

For violinist Christian Tetzlaff, the music always comes first: 'After all, it’s the composers who change the world, who show us the soul in a new light', he says. Today’s concert is a joint effort: three friends coming together to celebrate music that’s bigger than any one artist, however brilliant. And we get to listen in.