The Irish-Israeli
Fidelio Trio, active in the U.K., Ireland, and beyond, has a long résumé of concert appearances, radio broadcasts, and recordings. They have been especially noted for a strong record of commissioning and performing new music. Irish violinist
Darragh Morgan, Israeli cellist
Adi Tal, and Irish pianist
Mary Dullea came together in 1994 and 1995 when all were studying at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal College of Music. They won a prize as best ensemble in 1996 at the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition, and the following year they made their debut at London's Southbank Centre, giving the first British performance of
Toru Takemitsu's Between Tides. That marked the beginning of an emphasis on contemporary music in the trio's programming, although they have also played music from
Haydn to the early 20th century. They have worked with composers including
Michael Nyman (whose complete piano trios they have recorded for the MN label),
Donnacha Dennehy,
Toshio Hosokawa,
Charles Wuorinen,
Judith Weir, and
Evan Ziporyn, among many others. The
Fidelio Trio has performed at major venues in Britain and Ireland including Wigmore Hall in London and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and overseas tours have taken them to Paris, Florence, Venice, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Johannesburg. Their broadcast appearances include those on BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Lyric FM in Ireland, WNYC and NPR in the U.S., and they have been fixtures at festivals across the British Isles. The trio's recording career began in 2008 with
Bulb, an album devoted to
Dennehy's music, after which they were signed to Delphian and released an album of music by Icelandic composer
Hafliði Hallgrímsson. They have also recorded for Métier, Naxos, Divine Art, and in the late 2010s, Resonus Classics, for which they issued the collection
Fauré, Chausson, Satie: Piano Trios in 2019, earning a critic's choice nod from Gramophone magazine.