ECA goes ‘Ahn Plugged’

Lucia Ahn of the chamber music group The Ahn Trio, performing Feb. 3 at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, describes the song “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors as one of her favorites.

Ahn, the trio’s pianist, wanted to incorporate the song into the group’s repetoire, but recreating the song’s background sound of thunder without using recorded sound effects was proving difficult. A friend recommended Czech composer Michal Rataj.

“It was exactly the way we wanted it,” Lucia Ahn said. “We create a storm sound especially in the piano by throwing a tennis ball inside the piano onto the strings.”

Born in Seoul, Korea and educated at Juilliard in New York City, the members of the Ahn Trio — sisters Maria (cello), Lucia (piano) and Angella (violin) — have been hard at work redefining the art and architecture of chamber music. The group’s dynamic and nuanced performances have earned them accolades as one of the world’s premier piano trios.

The Ahn sisters breathe new life into the standard piano-trio literature, as well as push the boundaries of their craft, by commissioning works from visionary composers such as Kenji Bunch, Maurice Jarre and Michael Nyman.

The Ahn Trio is in high demand, performing and leading master classes and workshops across the United States and around the world. Wherever the Ahns go, they share their innovative spirit and ever-evolving vision of music. They are featured in Tina Schwager and Michele Schuerger’s new book “Cool Women, Hot Jobs.” They were also included in People Magazine’s “2006 50 Most Beautiful People” list and praised for “bringing chamber music to the MTV generation.” The trio’s latest CD, “Groovebox,” showcases this vibrant and original music.

The trio’s program for Feb. 3 includes “Divertissement for Piano Trio, Op. 126” by Nikolai Kapustin; “Dies Irie” by Kenji Bunch; and “Tremors,” by David Balakrishnan. Also featured is the 18-bar blues number “Mr. Twitty’s Chair” by Katrina Wreede; “Contacto Permanente” by Fernando Otero; “Addendum” by Chick Corea; “Skylife” by David Balakrishnan; and Michael Nyman’s “Big My Secret” from the film, “The Piano.”