Trio ARS ET LABOR, established in 2011, brings together three instrumentalists that, as the renowned critic and musicologist Christoph Schlüren wrote, have “internationally revivified the great Italian tradition of the piano trio. The name itself is programmatic: ARS ET LABOR stands for the most refined interpretative culture, entirely at the service of music.” Since the first concerts, the Trio has stood out for its solid background and the exquisite performance of masterpieces for this formation.

Their research – carried out following strict phenomenological criteria – is aimed at revealing the intersubjective truth of the pieces performed. Transparency, structural clarity of rhythm, melody and harmony, accuracy and timbric balance, adherence to the text (through direct consultation of the manuscripts, when possible), as well as the spontaneity of the technical skills and the expressive truth are among the core values of Trio ARS ET LABOR.

To this day, the Trio has performed many concerts in Italy and abroad, with a wide repertoire that not only includes the complete works for this formation of great classics such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, but also stands out for the exquisite performance of pieces from the French repertoire, the 20th century, and contemporary authors.

The critics wrote: “At the piano, Christa Bützberger keeps the Trio on track leading with great flexibility, and pulling out of the instrument a wide variety of timbres and countless gradations in the dynamic and the articulation, with a lightness that is completely free of any constraint and a musicality that takes the breath away, perceivable in every single note. At the violin, Sara Gianfriddo has a soft and tender tone, as she playfully reaches up to the high notes and captivates us with a tone that is sublime and yet so close to us, so intimate and straightforward. Héloïse Piolat is a stirring cellist: you can rarely hear this instrument played with such a lack of pretentiousness. Piolat doesn’t show off with an exaggerated vibrato or over-the-top dynamics, as it is so often the case, but plays with great confidence in the minute articulation of the music and her concentration, resulting convincing every single time.”

[Oliver Fraenzke, Munich “The New Listener”]

Since the 1980s, Christa Bützberger has given many concerts as a solo pianist, with an orchestra, in various chamber music formations, and as a guest in important seasons and festivals, such as the Musikkollegium Winterthur, Junifestwochen Zürich, Kammermusik Bern, Settembre Musica in Turin, Asolo Musica, the Keszthely Festival, and the Gödöllő Festival.

Her encounter with Sergiu Celibidache – who was her teacher from 1987 to 1996 – was fundamental for her career. Born in Zürich, she graduated at a very young age at the Conservatory of Winterthur and she won the prestigious Pembaur Prize in Bern.
In the 1980 she moved to Italy, which has become her adopted country. She has contributed to the education of many musicians through the ARS ET LABOR Corsi superiori di pianoforte e musica da camera (Advanced Courses on Piano and Chamber Music), and she is regularly invited to teach masterclasses at international academies and various Italian conservatories.

Sara Gianfriddo was born in Florence. She graduated with highest honours and distinction under P. Horvath. She attended violin masterclasses under O. Semchuck, T. Brandis, and others. Focusing on chamber music, for three years she was a member of the Quartetto di Firenze, with which she attended masterclasses and the courses of the European Quartet Academy among members of the most important quartets, such as M. Skampa, P. Farulli, H. Beyerle. With the same formation, she performed in important concert seasons. As a member of a cello and violin duo, she attended a masterclass run by the maestro Jordi Savall and she won the First Prize in the Riviera Etrusca and Nuovi Orizzonti competitions. She was leader of the Vincenzo Galilei Orchestra (2003-2006) and a member of the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and she went on tours (April and August 2006) with the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado and Philippe Jordan. Since May 2009, she has been first violin of the ARS ET LABOR Instrumental Group.

A passionate teacher, she teaches violin at La Bottega di ARS ET LABOR in Perugia.

Héloïse Piolat was born in Paris. She won at a very young age the «Premier Prix en violoncelle et musique de chambre», then she decided to continue her musical studies in Germany, in part thanks to the grant received from the D.A.A.D, under C. Henkel at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg i. Br. and then under H. C. Schweiker in Aachen, where she graduated with distinction in 2007. She attended various masterclasses, run by W. Christ, J. Starker, R. Pidoux, V. Erben, W. Böttcher, C. Wynecken, and others. She received a grant from the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, and she has given many concerts both as a soloist and as a chamber music performer in France, Germany, and Italy, as well as with the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra. From 2006 to 2009, she attended the ARS ET LABOR Corso superiore di formazione musicale (Advanced Course on Music Education) in Vicenza, receiving a grant named after the great cellist Franco Rossi that allowed her to perform with the maestro’s Bazin bow. She gives concerts in Italy and abroad in a duo formation with Christa Bützberger, with Trio ARS ET LABOR and with the ARS ET LABOR Instrumental Group.

She lives in Perugia and teaches cello at La Bottega di ARS ET LABOR.