— Canadian super trio interprets one of Schubert's greatest works.
The Rilian Trio is a rare one-to-watch ensemble from Canada. They recently won both first prize and the audience award for their charismatic and personal playing at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition , where brilliant interplay is just as important as genuine communication.
This weekend we will experience the super trio in both Bergen and Oslo, and with them they will be performing one of Schubert's truly great works: the Piano Trio in Bb major . They will also be performing Shostakovich 's late romantic, first trio as well as a beautiful, sacred work written by the trio's pianist, Godwin Friesen . They have chosen to call the program Remembering Childhood — and you can read what they themselves write about it further down this page. Welcome!
Daniel Dastoor violin
David Liam Roberts cello
Godwin Friesen piano
Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.
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"Isn't there something special about childhood? The freedom to be unabashedly creative, to enjoy being alive without being in charge, to focus on the delight of the very present moment...
Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his first trio at age 16, and his youthfulness comes through in how he strings together all the pathos and beauty that he yet knew—holding nothing back.
Our own pianist, Godwin Friesen , has been so captivated by the reflection on childlike contentment in Psalm 131 that he composed a piece to drive home the point for himself, to replace the pursuit of power with humble surrender to his good God.
Franz Schubert seems to us to have been an eternal child. How else could he have written music so pure and so whimsical, even though he wrote it in the final year of his short life? A man walking in a forest once thought, "But when alone—really alone—everyone is a child: or no one? Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives" (CS Lewis).
— Written by Rilian Trio (2025)
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The Rilian Trio was established in Toronto in 2021 and consists of three of Canada's leading young musicians: pianist Godwin Friesen , violinist Daniel Dastoor and cellist David Liam Roberts . They met while studying at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, with a shared passion for chamber music, communication and musical storytelling. In September 2023, they won first prize, the audience prize and the prize for best interpretation of a commissioned work at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.
Recent and upcoming performances include debuts in Kongsberg, Tromsø, Oslo and Bergen, Copenhagen, Waterloo in Belgium, as well as Calgary and Niagara in Canada. In 2024, the trio was also invited back as a festival ensemble at the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival.
The Rilian Trio has participated in renowned chamber music programs at the Trondheim International Chamber Academy and the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. In addition to receiving mentorship from cellist Bryan Epperson in Toronto, they have worked with performers such as Miguel da Silva, Steven Isserlis, Elisabeth Kufferath, Stefan Mendl, Régis Pasquier and Christian Tetzlaff. In addition to an ever-growing core repertoire, they have premiered a number of newly written works for both piano trio and quartet, including several by the trio's own pianist, Godwin Friesen.
We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!
Photo: Raoul Manuel Schnell