Polonsky-Shifrin-Wiley Trio joins BesenArts roster
From left: David Shifrin, clarinet; Anna Polonsky, piano; and Peter Wiley, cello
Photo: Ivan Seligman
I am delighted to announce I now represent the Polonsky-Shifrin-Wiley Trio.

The Polonsky-Shifrin-Wiley Trio brings together two of the most extraordinary musicians of modern times - clarinetist David Shifrin and cellist Peter Wiley - and pianist Anna Polonsky , one of the finest chamber musicians of the new generation.

Upon receiving Chamber Music America’s Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award in 2018, an award recognizing an individual who has provided historic service to the chamber music field, David Shifrin announced the formation of a new trio with the distinguished cellist Peter Wiley, and the rising star pianist Anna Polonsky. The Polonsky-Shifrin-Wiley Trio made its debut at Dumbarton Oaks in February 2019 and followed up with performances for the Candlelight Concerts in Connecticut and the Classic Chamber Concerts in Florida. The 2019-2020 season includes performances for the Chamber Music Societies in Detroit, Philadelphia, and Phoenix, the Fontana Chamber Music Society, at Yale and Clemson Universities, and for the Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg.

Continue below to see the rewarding and delightful range of works they are offering, from Beethoven and Brahms to Zemlinsky. Programs may also include sonatas for clarinet and piano, and for cello and piano.

It is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to work with these artists. I’ve gotten to know Ms. Polonsky’s fine work in recent years in collaboration with musicians I know and represent, and of course, like any sentient human in our business, I have partaken of the music of the peerless Peter Wiley over many years. But on a personal note, as many of you know, I often refer to myself as a “recovering clarinetist,” and there would be no way for me to overstate how deeply thrilled I am to get to work with David Shifrin. I remember vividly my first encounter with Mr. Shifrin’s music-making. I can see myself sitting in the Harvard Music Library, headphones plugged into a turntable, marveling at a newly-released recording of Bartók’s “Contrasts.” My inner teenager remains awestruck.

I hope I will have the opportunity to be in touch with you soon .

--Robert Besen


Pianist Anna Polonsky is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared with the Moscow Virtuosi, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and many others. Ms. Polonsky has collaborated with the Guarneri, Orion, Daedalus, and Shanghai Quartets, and with such musicians as Mitsuko Uchida, Yo-Yo Ma, David Shifrin, Richard Goode, Emanuel Ax, Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, and Jaime Laredo. She has performed chamber music at festivals such as Marlboro, Chamber Music Northwest, Seattle, Music@Menlo, Cartagena, Bard, and Caramoor, as well as at Bargemusic in New York City. Ms. Polonsky has given concerts in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall’s Stern, Weill, and Zankel Halls, and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. A frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she was a member of the Chamber Music Society Two during 2002-2004. In 2006 she took a part in the European Broadcasting Union’s project to record and broadcast all of Mozart’s keyboard sonatas, and in the spring of 2007 she performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium to inaugurate the Emerson Quartet’s Perspectives Series. She is a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. Anna Polonsky made her solo piano debut at the age of seven at the Special Central Music School in Moscow, Russia. She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. She received her Bachelor of Music diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of the renowned pianist Peter Serkin, and continued her studies with Jerome Lowenthal, earning her Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School. In addition to performing, she serves on the piano faculty of Vassar College, and in the summer at the Marlboro and Kneisel Hall chamber music festivals. Ms. Polonsky is a Steinway Artist.

A Yale University faculty member since 1987, clarinetist David Shifrin is artistic director of Yale’s Chamber Music Society series and Yale in New York, a concert series at Carnegie Hall. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society since 1982 and served as its artistic director from 1992 to 2004, inaugurating The Bowers Program (then called CMS Two) and the annual Brandenburg Concerto concerts. He continues as artistic director of Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon, a post he has held since 1981. He has collaborated with the Guarneri, Tokyo, and Emerson quartets, and frequently performs with pianist André Watts. Winner of the Avery Fisher Prize, he is also the recipient of a Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. A top prize winner in competitions throughout the world, including Munich, Geneva, and San Francisco, he has held principal clarinet positions in The Cleveland Orchestra and the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski. His recordings have received three Grammy nominations and his performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra was named Record of the Year by Stereo Review . He has also released two CDs of Lalo Schifrin’s compositions, one of which was nominated for a Latin Grammy. New Delos recording releases in 2017 included Carl Nielsen’s clarinet concert in a chamber version by Rene Orth and a volume of quintets for clarinet and strings with the Miró, Dover, and Jasper quartets of music by Peter Schickele, Richard Danielpour, and Aaron J. Kernis.

Cellist Peter Wiley enjoys a prolific career as a performer and teacher. He attended the Curtis Institute at just 13 years of age, under the tutelage of David Soyer, and continued his impressive youthful accomplishments with his appointment as principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony at age 20, after one year in the Pittsburgh Symphony. From 1987 through 1998, Mr. Wiley was cellist of the Beaux Arts Trio, with which he performed over a thousand concerts, including appearances with many of the world’s greatest orchestras. He succeeded his mentor, David Soyer, as cellist of the Guarneri Quartet from 2001 until the quartet retired from the concert stage in 2009. Awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Peter Wiley was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998 with the Beaux Arts Trio and in 2009 with the Guarneri Quartet. He has also had a close association with the Marlboro Music Festival for over 40 years. A much sought-after teacher, Mr. Wiley has been a faculty artist at Caramoor's “Rising Stars” program and taught at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Mannes College of Music, and Manhattan School of Music. He is currently on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Bard College Conservatory of Music.




Following are works for piano, clarinet, and cello that can form the basis of setting a program for the Polonsky-Shifrin-Wiley Trio. Programs may also include works for clarinet/piano and/or cello/piano listed below. All program combinations are subject to approval by the Trio.

Works for Clarinet, Cello & Piano
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11 (22’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio in E-flat major, Op. 38 (composer’s arrangement of the Septet, 35’)
  • Johannes Brahms: Trio in A minor, Op. 114 (30’)
  • Max Bruch: Eight Pieces, Op. 83 (36’ total; best in groups of 3 or 4)
  • Gabriel Fauré: Trio in D minor, Op. 120 (21’)
  • Mikhail Glinka: Trio (originally piano, clarinet, bassoon, 17’)
  • Vincent d’Indy: Trio in B-flat major, Op. 29 (20’)
  • Robert Muczynski: Fantasy Trio, Op. 26 (15’)
  • Francis Poulenc: Trio (originally piano, oboe, bassoon, 18’)
  • Paquito d’Rivera: Danzon (6’)
  • Nino Rota: Trio (15’)
  • Alexander Zemlinsky: Trio, Op. 3 (25’)

Works for Clarinet & Piano
  • Johannes Brahms: Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 (23’)
  • Johannes Brahms: Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 (22’)
  • Francis Poulenc: Sonata (15’)
  • Claude Debussy: Rhapsody (9’)

Works for Cello & Piano
  • Samuel Barber: Sonata in C minor, Op. 6 (19’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5, No. 1 (24’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 (24’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 (27’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102, No. 1 (16’)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2 (19’)
  • Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (26’)
  • Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 (29’)
  • Frédéric Chopin: Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 (32’)
  • César Franck: Sonata in A major (28’)
  • Shorter pieces including the Beethoven Variations and works by Schumann
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