Trio Cleonice comes to Putney to explore two great masterworks of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio and Shostakovich's 2nd Piano Trio, in the context of Russian literature and the Russian language. Guided by mentors from both fields, Trio Cleonice will explore not only these two beloved Russian piano trios, but parallel works of fiction: Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov alongside Tchaikovsky; Zoshchenko and Bulgakov alongside Shostakovich. Studying the linguistic characteristics of Russian, as well as the way both authors and composers navigate the “cursed questions” that plagued 19th-century Russia (What is the meaning of life? Who is responsible for this? Why are we here?), will provide an even deeper backdrop against which to study and experiment, yielding a more meaningful, more uniquely Russian take on these epic piano trios.