The Trio Fontenay was a German classical music piano trio which performed worldwide and recorded much of the significant piano trio repertoire between the years 1980 and 2006. Formation The Trio Fontenay was formed in Hamburg in 1980. The original members of the trio were Wolf Harden, pianist; Michael Mücke, violinist; and Niklas Schmidt, cellist. The name "Fontenay" is old French for "source" and "fantasy", and is also the name of the street near the Hamburg Conservatory where the ensemble first met to practice. An important early influence on the group's interpretations came from classes they attended in Cologne which were taught by the Amadeus Quartet. Concert career In the 1980s they quickly developed an active concert schedule, including regular appearances at major concert halls and festivals in Europe. In 1986 they made their American debut. Subsequently the group toured North and South America, Australia and the Far East. For a time the ensemble was named "trio in residence" at Théâtre du Châtelet and was based in Paris. In the 1995-1996 season they performed the complete Beethoven cycle at Paris’s Théâtre Chatelet, London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Schauspielhaus, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and in Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne. Their recording of these works received the 1994 Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik [German Record Critics Award]. In 1998 the cellist Niklas Schmidt was replaced by Jens-Peter Maintz. The musicians decided to disband Trio Fontenay in February 2006. Audio recordings The ensemble recorded music of Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Dvořák, Fauré, Haydn, Ives, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Roslavets, Schubert, Schumann, and Turina for Teldec, Denon, EMI, Philips, and K&K. The recordings listed here were made with Niklas Schmidt as the cellist, unless otherwise noted, and are listed in chronological order. Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 Rachmaninoff: Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D minor, Op. 9 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C-minor, Op. 101 Dvorak: Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, B130 Schubert: •Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major, D898 •Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, D929 •Piano Trio in B-flat major (Sonata in one movement), D28 •Notturno in E-flat major, D897 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 Dvorak: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major, B51 Mendelssohn: •Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 •Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66 Mozart: •Piano Trio in G major, K. 496