“In a concert you have a little bit more freedom and flexibility to be yourself,” cellist Marius Urba tells me when I catch up with Berlin-based Trio Marvin, fresh from the group’s win at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. “In a competition you have a very different feeling because people are sitting behind a table and writing down notes and in a concert maybe you can relax a little bit more and feel more comfortable.”

Four days after the Grand Finals in Melbourne, the Trio looks – and sounds –relaxed performing at the Independent Theatre in North Sydney as part of Musica Viva’s Coffee Concerts’ series.

Trio Marvin at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. Photo © Michael Keating

The group is “still a little bit surprised and overwhelmed” when I speak to them ahead of the concert – and perhaps even a little bit shell-shocked after the high stakes week of competitive performance. “It was a really intense week because after each round we had to prepare the next round,” Urba says. “It was very good that there was a day off before...