catalogue: JOSEPH HAYDN – TRIO ARS ET LABOR
Trio ARS ET LABOR, established in 2011, brings together three instrumentalists that, as the
renowned critic Christoph Schlüren wrote, have “internationally revivified the great Italian
tradition of the piano trio.
Sara Gianfriddo: violin
Héloïse Piolat: cello
Christa Butzberger: piano
The name itself is programmatic: ARS ET LABOR stands for the most refined interpretative culture, entirely at the service of music. Trio ARS ET LABOR from Perugia is made up of exceptional instrumentalists, playing together with the confidence of sleep-walkers…” Since the first concerts, the Trio has stood out for its solid background and the exquisite performance of masterpieces for this formation. Their research – carried out following strict phenomenological criteria – is aimed at revealing the intersubjective truth of the pieces performed.
Transparency, structural clarity of rhythm, melody and harmony, accuracy and timbric balance, adherence to the text, as well as the spontaneity of the technical skills and the expressive truth are among the core values of Trio ARS ET LABOR. To this day, the Trio has performed many concerts in Italy and abroad, with a wide repertoire that not only includes the complete works for this formation of great classics such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, but also stands out for the exquisite performance of pieces from the French repertoire, the 20th century, and contemporary authors.
The critics wrote: “At the piano, Christa Bützberger keeps the Trio on track leading with great flexibility, and pulling out of the instrument a wide variety of timbres and countless gradations in the dynamic and the articulation, with a lightness that is completely free of any constraint and a musicality that takes the breath away, perceivable in every single note. At the violin, Sara Gianfriddo has a soft and tender tone, as she playfully reaches up to the high notes and captivates us with a tone that is sublime and yet so close to us, so intimate and straightforward.
Héloïse Piolat is a stirring cellist: you can rarely hear this instrument played with such a lack of pretentiousness. Piolat doesn’t show off with an exaggerated vibrato or over-the-top dynamics, as it is so often the case, but plays with great confidence in the minute articulation of the music and her concentration, resulting convincing every single time.”
[Oliver Fraenzke, Munich]
In 2024 ARS ET LABOR Trio starts a collaboration with Armida Records for a project that includes the execution and recording of the complete piano trios by Joseph Haydn.
Sara Gianfriddo
was born in Florence. She graduated with highest honours and distinction under P. Horvath. She attended violin masterclasses under O. Semchuck, T. Brandis, I. Gitlis and continues her research with M. Inaba-Messina. Focusing on chamber music, for three years she was a member of the Quartetto di Firenze, with which she attended masterclasses and the courses of the European Quartet Academy among members of the most important quartets, such as M. Skampa, P. Farulli, H. Beyerle. With the same formation, she performed in important concert seasons.
As a member of a cello and violin duo, she attended a masterclass run by the maestro Jordi Savall and she won the First Prize in the Riviera Etrusca and Nuovi Orizzonti competitions. She was leader of the Vincenzo Galilei Orchestra (2003-2006) and a member of the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and she went on tours (April and August 2006) with the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado and Philippe Jordan. Since May 2009, she has been first violin of the ARS ET LABOR Instrumental Group. A passionate teacher, she teaches violin at La Bottega di ARS ET LABOR in Perugia and at Music Middle Schools..
Héloïse Piolat
was born in Paris. She won at a very young age the «Premier Prix en violoncelle et musique de chambre», then she decided to continue her musical studies in Germany, in part thanks to the grant received from the D.A.A.D, under C. Henkel at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg i. Br. and then under H. C. Schweiker in Aachen, where she graduated with distinction in 2007.
She attended various masterclasses, run by W. Christ, J. Starker, R. Pidoux, V. Erben, W. Böttcher and others. She received a grant from the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and she has given many concerts both as a soloist and as a chamber music performer in France, Germany, and Italy, as well as with the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra. From 2006 to 2009, she attended the ARS ET LABOR Corso superiore di formazione musicale (Advanced Course on Music Education) in Vicenza.
She gives concerts in Italy and abroad in a duo formation with Christa Bützberger, with Trio ARS ET LABOR and with the ARS ET LABOR Instrumental Group. She lives in Perugia and teaches cello at La Bottega di ARS ET LABOR.
Christa Butzberger
pianist, performs regularly throughout Europe, appearing in solo recitals, concerts with orchestra and chamber music in important seasons and festivals, such as the Musikkollegium Winterthur, Junifestwochen Zürich, Kammermusik Bern, Settembre Musica in Turin, Asolo Musica, the Keszthely Festival, the Gödöllő Festival, Accademia Chigiana di Siena and others. Born in Zürich, she graduated at a very young age at the Conservatory of Winterthur and she won the prestigious Pembaur Prize in Bern.
Her encounter, 1987, with Sergiu Celibidache and his teaching about phenomenology was fundamental for her artistic development. She lives in Italy, where she has contributed to the education of many musicians through the ARS ET LABOR Masterclasses on Piano and Chamber Music, and she is regularly invited to teach at international academies and various Italian conservatories.