London's
Busch Trio, consisting of two Israeli brothers (pianist
Omri Epstein and cellist
Ori Epstein, and Dutch violinist
Mathieu van Bellen) have emerged as one of Britain's leading young chamber ensembles, with acclaimed performances across Europe and several recordings on the prestigious Alpha label. The trio was formed in London in 2012; the Epstein brothers, born in Tel Aviv in 1986 and 1993, respectively, had both come to London to study at the Purcell School, and
van Bellen was a graduate of the Amsterdam Conservatory who also studied at Chethams School of Music in Manchester, the Royal College of Music, and the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. From the start, the group snared top competition wins, including the 2012 Royal Overseas League Competition, the Salieri-Zinetti Competition, the Pinerolo Competition, and the International Schumann Chamber Music Award in Frankfurt. They have served as trio-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Chapel in Brussels. These accomplishments opened Europe's top concert halls to the
Busch Trio, and they have performed at Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, and King's Place in London, the Bozar in Brussels, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and toured China, as well as being heard on the BBC, Radio France, and Deutschlandfunk and several regional German radio networks. The
Busch Trio was signed to the Alpha label in 2015 and released their
debut there, an album of
Dvorak's piano trios, the following year. It earned a coveted five-star review from the French periodical Diapason as well as strong praise from Britain's Gramophone. The album was part of a four-volume set of releases devoted to
Dvorak's chamber music; in 2018, the
third volume, featuring the composer's piano quintets, was released. That year, the
Busch Trio made their debut at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.