The Spirit of Play

The word ‘play’ has a special double meaning for musicians. On one hand, it’s sitting in front of a score with an instrument, making music. On the other, it involves doing things for sheer pleasure and fun, in the spirit of a child. I’m reminded of this as I talk to the three members of the Isimsiz Trio. Even as violinist Pablo Hernán Benedí, pianist Erdem Misirlioglu and cellist Edvard Pogossian log into Zoom from Lausanne, Cambridge and Newcastle, respectively, separated by land, sea and the little black boxes on the screen, they obviously have a lot of fun together. Where most Zoom meetings tend to be a little dour, these three tease each other constantly.  

It won’t just be music they’ll be playing on tour – they also enjoy ping pong and poker. Misirlioglu teases Pogossian, ‘I’ve been playing ping pong this summer, so I’ve upped my game.’ But where Misirlioglu loses ping pong, he’s the master poker player, Pogossian admits: ‘Erdem is the champion of poker. He was teaching me and would beat me every time.’ Misirlioglu says, ‘It's nice to have some competition going on next to the more collaborative stuff!’

Their close camaraderie dates back to the group’s foundation in 2009, as students at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with their original cellist, Michael Petrov. Rehearsing many times a week together they developed a musical bond that would win them a place on the prestigious Young Concert Artists’ Trust scheme in 2013. The trio went on to perform in prestigious halls and festivals around Europe and record two celebrated albums. Then came the pandemic, and everything changed.

‘We went from rehearsing many times a week to barely seeing each other,’ says Misirlioglu. ‘Then it stayed like that, and now we get together more based on tours in terms of rehearsing.’

During the pandemic, cellist Petrov left music in 2021 for software design and they recruited Pogossian. He reflects on what it was like joining such a tight-knit group.

‘A lot of the strength of the trio comes from the fact that they were friends as well, and enjoyed not just playing music together, but spending time together. I think I slot well into that. We have a similar fun vibe. We're a collective. They established so much in the Guildhall days, and Pablo and Erdem play so well together, so it took me a little time to feel I was an equal part of it, but they made it very easy for me.’

The players now pursue their own paths outside the trio, whether in teaching, orchestral or other chamber work, and working outside the trio even makes coming together even more enjoyable. 

What does he mean by poke?

‘Sometimes you're tired, because you've been travelling, the violin is upset because you've arrived in a humid hall with an ungrateful acoustic and perhaps you're listening to yourself more than you should. It's nice that a colleague pokes you – they do something radically new musically and draw you back into the conversation. The unexpected is a tool to bring a sharp focus on listening.’

You can find the trio playing ping pong across Australia, from Perth (30 September) to Armidale (14 October). And Francesco Coll, Brahms and Schubert, of course. 

Trio Isimsiz tours to Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane, Sydney and Armidale from 30 September-14 October. Tickets from $65, or $49 for under 40s.