Georg Mertens - Hompage of the Blue Mountains Trio

Welome to the Homepage

of the

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TRIO

Blue Mountains Trio

You find in the centre column

* Program and dates of Concerts
* Style - History - Member"s Bio - Bookings
* Details about our CD "Music for Grand Dining"

In the left column you find:
* links to the other web pages

In the right column you find:
* joining our email list
* Audio links to our CD's

C O N C E R T S

To inquire about private functions / regional concerts
CONTACT (click here): georgcello@hotmail.com

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TRIO

Style - History - Member"s Bio - Bookings

The Trio plays the most wonderful collection of some of the most delightful melodies of an age when society was rather indulgent in both style of entertainment and the musical selection chosen to accompany its grand style of dining.

If you have experienced breakfast at Tiffany's, High Tea at Harrods, Dinner on board the Titanic, or Supper on the Zeppelin....This collection is for you. Immedietely you are transported to the grand era of where life moved a little slower and the finer movements were savoured a little longer. - The selection of their music includes one of the finest - if not the finest - arrangements of the Blue Danube, Pachelbels Canon, La Paloma, Perfect Day, Danny Boy and real rare gems, whose composers are hardly known today. Their repertoir is vast and versatile compassing several nights of music.

The Blue Mountains Trio was from 1996 to 1999 the major attraction at Chisolms Grand Dining Room at Jenolan Caves House. Guests were arriving from Sydney dressed up to enjoy music in Vienna style.
The Trio performed at wine festivals, grand openings and gave concerts interstate and internationally.

* Since December 2005 Jenolan Caves House is under New Management and the Blue Mountains Trio can be booked again for conferences and dinner functions like in olden times.

www.jenolancaveshouse.com.au

Comments of our critics:
" ...old Vienna brought to life!" (Prof. Erwin Collingwood)
"Entertainment plus...they sold our product!" (Douglas Hamilton, McWilliams Wines)

______________________________________

The members of the Blue Mountains Trio:

Violinist GUSTAW JOSEPH SZELSKI is of Polish/Hungarian background and was brought up on a diet of Gypsy music.
His early music education however was strictly that of a Classical musician. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (DSCM performance) and subsequently became leader of the Lyric Quartet and the Sydney University String Quartet.
He then freelanced including backing artists like Shirley Bassey,
Rita Hunter, John Denver and Frank Sinatra.
He later formed the Winbourne string quartett
and was very active in the 31 Note music movement
working closely together with the founder Bill Coates.

Cellist GEORG MERTENS is an international soloist and chamber musician
residing in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains . He was born in Aachen / Germany where he started cello lessons at the age of 9.
Later he did his degrees at the reputed Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik in Freiburg / Germany majoring in cello and Classical guitar.
He conducted the international chamber music class in the Mozart town Salzburg, toured Switzerland, France, Sweden tour and did solo recital series in the village churches of old Berlin;
in 1980 he was called head of Department to the Conservatorium of
Schleswig-Flensburg and taught in 1986/7 at UNE / Armidale.
In 1993 he recorded the complete Suites for cello solo by J.S.Bach.
He teaches today in Katoomba, Mudgee and Bathurst (see also Georg's Cello Method on the webpage 'sheetmusic').

Pianist GAVIN TIPPING did studies with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Trinity College London and Durham University.
He held positions including principal organist of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, lecturer in composition studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of music, Senior Project Officer with the Music Board of the Australia Council
and founding director of the Blue Mountains Conservatorium.
Gavin toured Europe and the US as soloist and accompanist
with St Mary's Cathedral Choir.
He has composed two Musicals in collaboration with Annette Charter, the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1985) and A Christmas Carol (1996)
and has received several commissions.

For Bookings of the Bue Mountains Trio Bookings please contact:
Georg on ph 02 4782 5440 or
Gavin on ph 0428 842846
email: georgcello@hotmail.com

Gustaw and Georg form between them also the "Paganini Duo"
Please click in the left column for the "Homepage of the Paganini Duo".

For the first years their CD: "Music for Grand Dining" was sold only locally, in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains in Australia (that's where the "Three Sisters" are) .
Within 2 years more than one in a hundred of Blue Mountains people owned one (1300 copies sold - population 90 000).
One of the top hotels in Katoomba copied our "Cafe Continental" and put it on a loop. We went in to listen and left after hearing it for the ninth time in a row. Today - we were told - it is still playing, and everybody is well and healthy.

Blue Mts Trio CD
"Music for Grand Dining"

TRACKS

1   Told at Twilight (Huerter)
2   At the Cafe Continental (Grosz/Kennedy)
3   Blue Danube (Strauss)
4   Two Guitars (Russian Traditional)
5   Canon in D (Pachelbel)
6   The Song of Songs (Moya)
7: Free (Kennedy/Carr)
8   Simple Aveu (Thome)
9   Serenata (Toselli)
10   La Golandrina (Italian Traditional)
11   A Perfect Day (Jacobs-Bond)
12   Jealousy (Gade)
13   Tune from County Derry (Trad./Grainger)
14   Gavotte (Bohm)
15   La Paloma (Italian Traditional)
16   March/Foxtrot (Kalman)

Top downloads:
1   Canon in D (Pachelbel)
2   La Paloma (Italian Traditional)
3   Two Guitars (Russian Traditional)

Our Favorites:
Gustaw: The Song of Songs
Georg:    Told at Twilight
Gavin:     Simple Aveu

Georg and Gavin recorded in 2008 the CD:

"Cello Favourites"

(click on CD cover to listen)

Georg and Gavin recorded in 2008 the CD: "Cello Favourites"

(click on CD cover to listen)

Georg and Gavin recorded in 2008 the CD:

"Cello Favourites"