Trio Jean Paul

The Trio Jean Paul has remained unchanged for more than three decades and continues to rank among the most successful and consistent chamber music ensembles today. The trio captivates audiences around the world with its sophisticated ensemble culture, keen sense of tonal aesthetics not to mention the musicality of the three artists with their poised style.

Their career together started with first prizes at competitions in Melbourne and Osaka as well as at the German Music Competition. The name of the ensemble was also quickly set: Jean Paul was the favorite poet of Robert Schumann, whose works are particularly dear to the trio. As more than a mere namesake to the trio, the name reveals the musicians’ primary aim: to explore the similarities of music and language and make it audible for the audience.

Their engagements regularly take the ensemble to major concert halls around the world such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Berliner Philharmonie, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels or Wigmore Hall in London. Extensive tours have taken them to the USA and Canada.

The ensemble’s work focuses on the performance of contemporary repertoire, which also includes numerous original premieres by famous composers. Wolfgang Rihm dedicated his Trio Concerto to the ensemble which the Trio premiered in 2014 at the Berliner Philharmonie together with the WDR Sinfonieorchester under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Further performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich and the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover followed. In 2025, the trio premiered Tobias Rokahr’s new work Szenen für Jean Paul in Bayreuth, a composition dedicated to the poet on the 200th anniversary of his death.

Numerous CD productions by the trio with CAvi-music garnered prizes: The recording of Brahm’s Trio in B major and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht was awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik; the recording of the two Mendelssohn trios in 2009 and the Schubert trios in 2012 were distinguished with the Supersonic-Award. In 2015 a CD featuring piano trios by Joseph Haydn was brought on the market. Most recently the Trio Jean Paul enthuses with their CD of Brahm’s String Sextets arranged for piano trio by the composer’s friend Theodor Kirchner.

Short biographies

Eckart Heiligers | Piano
serves as professor for piano and chamber music at the Zurich University of the Arts. His work also has him offering master classes both in Germany and abroad as well as participating as a jury member at international music competitions.
Heiligers studied under Karl-Heinz Kämmerling in Hanover and Leon Fleisher in Baltimore (USA). His achievements earned numerous scholarships early on from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Music Competition as well as a France Graage Performance Scholarship. Eckart Heiligers delivered award-winning performances at numerous international competitions in Vercelli, Athens, Salt Lake City, Oslo and others. His concert work is characterized by tremendous breadth as he regularly performs as a soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist.

Ulf Schneider | Violin
In addition to his worldwide concert activities with the trio, Schneider has a continuous collaboration with the Bartholdy Quintet and the pianists Jan Philip Schulze and Stephan Imorde. He particularly enjoys developing programs in which language and music enter into a special connection with one another.
Ulf Schneider has been a professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media for 20 years. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses and competitions as a juror.
Schneider studied in Hanover, New York and Berlin with Jens Ellermann, Masao Kawasaki, Felix Galimir and Thomas Zehetmair.

Martin Löhr | Violoncello
is a solo cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic, teaches at the Orchestra Academy and is a regular lecturer at master courses in Germany and abroad. His extensive concert performances include, in addition to orchestral concerts, solo performances as well as chamber music in a variety of formations.
Löhr completed his studies under Wolfgang Mehlhorn in Hamburg, Zara Nelsova at the Juilliard School in New York and Wolfgang Boettcher at the Berlin University of the Arts. He is also a recipient of a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, a Masefield scholarship, was included in the Federal Selection of Concerts for Young Artists and was awarded the prize of the Mozartgesellschaft Wiesbaden. In 1995, he won 1st prize at the Jeunesses Musicales International Cello Competition in Belgrade.