Talweg
Tal (valley) - Weg (path): the name "Talweg" comes from a German topographical term that means literally "valley path" and conjures up an image of things coming together - currents flowing down from the mountain peaks and joining forces in the valley. The Trio Talweg brings together the creative energies of three artists, each of whom has a distinct personality: French violinist Sébastien Surel, Vietnam-born cellist Éric-Maria Couturier and French-Brazilian pianist Juliana Steinbach. The members of the Trio Talweg come from very different backgrounds and bring to their shared music-making a wide range of artistic experiences. They are the heirs to several classical traditions, but are also drawn to folk music, improvisation and contemporary music. They are performers who share a spirit of adventure, an insatiable curiosity and a delight in the new, and who relish coming together and making music with other artists of a similar outlook. Their overriding desire has always been to achieve a balance between respecting the form of the work while still allowing for spontaneous interaction between the performers: this is a source of inspiration which ensures that they always bring a fresh approach to their interpretation of the repertoire. The Trio Talweg was founded in 2004 at the Rencontres de Bélaye festival by three graduates of the Paris Conservatoire. From the very beginning, the trio benefited from the advice of the cellist Roland Pidoux and the support of the pianist Martha Argerich.

Its debut recording, devoted to works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, came out on the Triton label in 2008 and was awarded a Diapason d'Or. The trio then featured on a CD of music by the contemporary Belgian composer Marcel Cominotto issued by Azur Classical in 2013. Its album of the complete piano trios by Brahms will be published on Pavane Records in 2014. The Trio Talweg has a number of contemporary works in its repertoire: these include pieces by the Belgian composers Claude Ledoux and Marcel Cominotto which are dedicated to the ensemble. It is also committed to bringing before the public new works and pieces by neglected composers, and in fulfilment of this mission has taken part in projects sponsored by the Royal Library of Belgium and the Bru Zane Foundation in Venice.

The Talwegs have appeared at numerous festivals and in many concert seasons, in France (Salle Molière and Société de Musique de Chambre in Lyon, Classique au Vert, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme in Paris, Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux, Festival des Forêts, Grandes Heures de Saint-Emilion), Belgium (Ars Musica, Bozar, Flagey, La Monnaie, Conservatoire Royal in Brussels, Liège Philharmonie, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi, Festival de Wallonie, Été Mosan), Italy (Bologna Festival, MiTo in Milan and Turin, Villa Medici in Rome, Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice), as well as in Switzerland (New Year Music Festival in Gstaad, Mercier Foundation in Sierre), Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Japan. They are regular guests of various radio and television programs: France Musique (Un Mardi Idéal, Le Matin des Musiciens), Musiq3, France 2 (La Boîte à Musique de Jean-François Zygel).