Founded in Hamburg in 2019, Trio E.T.A. pays homage to the writer, composer, and critic E.T.A. Hoffmann. The ensemble began its journey with romantic music, embraces artistic crossovers, and explores the chamber music repertoire from classical to contemporary works. E.T.A. Hoffmann serves as an inspiration for the musicians due to his versatility and his devotion to music as the highest art form. In addition to performing the great masterpieces for piano trio, the group is particularly drawn to lesser-known works, exciting new discoveries, and contemporary compositions. The work „Tous les Mondes“ by composer Isabel Mundry has been dedicated to Trio E.T.A. and has been premiered at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg in March 2025.

In 2021, the young ensemble won several prestigious accolades, including the prize of the German Music Competition, the Rotary Club Bonn special prize, and the Friends of Young Musicians Germany prize. These achievements have supported their promising development, leading to numerous concert engagements. In the 2021/22 season, the trio made notable debuts at venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the European Cultural Forum Mainau, the Beethovenhaus Bonn, the Weingartner Musiktage, and the Weilburger Schlosskonzerte. In 2022, they also received the Walbusch Prize from Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. In 2023, Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk (SWR2) selected Trio E.T.A. for its highly exclusive three-year sponsorship program, SWR2 – New Talent. This recognition was followed in 2024 by debuts at the Rheingau Music Festival and the Oberstdorf Music Summer, among others. In 2025, Trio E.T.A. played their Debut at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Liederhalle Stuttgart and performed at London Wigmore Hall. Upcoming concert engagements this year include Schwetzingen SWR Festival and Icking spring.

The ensemble’s debut CD, featuring works by Joseph Haydn, Bedřich Smetana, and Roman Pawollek, was released in February 2023 on the Leipzig label GENUIN. It was produced in collaboration with the German Music Council and Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
Since its foundation, the trio’s artistic work has been extensively documented through radio and television productions. In 2020, they were featured in the NDR program Podium der Jungen. In 2022, ARD Klassik produced a recording of trios by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Dmitri Shostakovich, complemented by several concert recordings broadcast by SWR and BR.

The musicians of Trio E.T.A. have also enjoyed significant success as soloists, earning prizes at prestigious competitions such as the TONALi competition, the Ton und Erklärung competition, the Kiefer Hablitzel | Göhner Music Prize (Switzerland), and the Suggia competition (Portugal). They have performed as soloists with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Mariinsky Orchestra in renowned venues such as the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Elbphilharmonie, the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Trio E.T.A. is supported by the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and benefits from artistic guidance provided by Dirk Mommertz, Eberhard Feltz, Angelika Merkle, Christine Busch, Priya Mitchell, Niklas Schmidt and Martin Funda.