Anyone in search of some much-needed rays of Italian sunshine to alleviate the November gloom on Saturday evening would have found it in abundance at Freshwater Memorial Hall when Trio Concept (formerly known as Trio Chagall) arrived to play at this month’s West Wight Arts Association concert.

With a programme consisting of three works which pianist Lorenzo Nguyen described as "a Schumann sandwich", he went on to explain that the idea - or concept - was to link the pieces of two composers and great friends, Schumann and Mendelssohn.

The opening work, Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Opus 88, gave a foresight into this trio’s captivating way of communicating with each other, all three players seeming to have a sixth sense of what each other was thinking musically, no doubt a result of the twelve years that they have been playing together.

Mendelssohn’s Trio in D Minor Op.49 provided the ‘filling’ to this musical sandwich, with the trio’s ceaseless energy carrying the audience along throughout, from the urgency of the first movement, the heartfelt emotion of the Andante, the skittish Scherzo to the uplifting Finale.

The second half of the concert was devoted to Schumann’s own Trio in D Minor Op.63, written largely as a homage to his friend Mendelssohn.

As throughout the evening, the balance between the three members of this high-calibre ensemble worked perfectly.

The soulful cello playing of Francesco Massimino, the sweet-to-steely versatility of violinist Edoardo Greco and the effortless fluidity of pianist Lorenzo Nguyen gave the audience an evening of polished chamber music to warm the collective heart.