Trio Meister Raro

Trio Meister Raro was formed in 2022, a natural extension of Rachel Roberts, Robert Plane and Tim Horton’s work together as members of Ensemble 360.

Whilst they had already explored works for the mellow combination of clarinet, viola and piano as part of Ensemble 360’s residency in Sheffield, becoming an autonomous ensemble has allowed the trio’s members to delve deeper into a rewarding selection of acknowledged masterpieces and fascinating curiosities. Much of the ensemble’s repertoire, from Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen, to Jorg Widmann’s 2015 tour de force Es war einmal… (Once upon a time…) focuses on storytelling and fantasy and this narrative element is reflected in many of Trio Meister Raro’s programme offerings.

Why ‘Trio Meister Raro’?

The name Meister Raro is taken from Robert Schumann who created pen names to describe different aspects of his personality: the exuberant and extroverted Florestan, the introverted poet Eusebius, and Meister Raro himself, the wise, observant mediator between the other two opposing characters.

About the musicians…

Robert Plane – Clarinet

Robert Plane’s career as a solo and chamber clarinettist is rich and varied. Frequent concerto appearances have featured worldwide performances of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and the world premieres of concertos by Judith Bingham, Diana Burrell, Piers Hellawell and Mark Boden. Rob has tirelessly pursued a particular passion for British clarinet music in concert and on disc, winning a Gramophone Award for his account of Finzi’s Concerto.
As a chamber musician, Rob has explored the clarinet quintet repertoire with a number of the finest string quartets, including Brahms live on BBC Radio 3 with the Skampa Quartet and multiple appearances with the Elias Quartet, amongst many others. He has performed and recorded with the Gould Piano Trio for thirty years, commissioning Huw Watkins to compose Four Fables in 2018, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Corbridge Chamber Music Festival which they direct together. This work had its second performance at the 2018 Church Stretton Arts Festival. He is clarinettist of Ensemble 360 and enjoys exploring chamber music of all kinds with them at their home in the Crucible, Sheffield and country-wide.
Rob was principal clarinet of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for over twenty years and has held the same position with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia. A respected teacher and educator, he holds the post of Head of Woodwind Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Rachel Roberts – Viola

Rachel Roberts is one of Europe’s leading violists, performing internationally as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Toppan Hall in Japan, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Musikverein Vienna, the Philharmonie in Berlin and London’s Wigmore Hall. Prizes and accolades for her chamber music recordings including three Diapason d’Or awards (2009, 2021 and 2023), BBC Chamber Choice, and Fonoforum CD of the month for Brahms Viola Sonatas with Lars Vogt. She is a regular guest at international chamber music festivals such as Salzburg Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Heimbach ‘Spannungen’ and Mecklenburg Vorpommern. She has recorded chamber music for Hyperion, Champs Hill Records, Signum Classics, cAVI, Deutsche Rundfunk, Alpha Classics, and BIS Records. Rachel is Professor of Viola at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Tim Horton – Piano

Tim Horton is one of the UK’s leading pianists, equally at home in solo and chamber repertoire. He is a founder member of both the Leonore Piano Trio and Ensemble 360 and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble. He was invited to make his solo debut at Wigmore Hall in 2016. Tim returned to Wigmore Hall in early 2021 to perform a programme of Mozart, Chopin and Szymanowski, and will be giving further solo recitals in the coming seasons. Between 2011 and 2015 Tim presented a complete Beethoven Sonata cycle at Sheffield’s Crucible Studio for Music in the Round, who invited him to return for a cycle of Schubert Sonatas 2017-2019, and a Chopin cycle which is currently underway.
Following two performances of Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the Royal Festival Hall, London in 1995, at the recommendation of Alfred Brendel, Tim was asked to give concerts with the RLPO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.
The Leonore Piano Trio has produced seven discs for Hyperion, including the complete Parry Trios and the Piano Quartet. They have also recorded the complete Piano Trios of David Matthews for Toccata Classics. With Ensemble 360, a mixed group of strings, wind and piano that took up residency at the Crucible Studio in Sheffield in 2005, Tim has performed to great acclaim throughout the UK and abroad.

Here is a link to their agent’s Website .