Trio Ilona is a period-instrument chamber ensemble featuring violinist Ravenna Lipchik, cellist Kate Bennett Wadsworth, and pianist Yi-heng Yang. They specialize in bringing pre-20th-century Romantic repertoire to life using historical playing techniques and period instruments. The ensemble is named in honor of Ilona Eibenschütz, a pianist and pupil of Clara Schumann. Because Eibenschütz lived until 1967, her historical recordings provide a rare, direct link to the authentic performance style of the Romantic era. By studying these recordings, Trio Ilona seeks to capture that same vibrancy and speech-like flair in their own performances.
Rather than using modern instruments, the trio utilizes historically accurate equipment, including gut strings for the violin and cello. For their recordings, Yang frequently plays an 1830 J.B. Streicher pianoforte. This historically informed approach alters the traditional balance of the trio, elevating the quieter registers of the string instruments to equalize with the intense tones of early pianos.
Their critically acclaimed debut album features Robert Schumann’s Piano Trios. It has been praised by publications like The Strad and Early Music America as a fascinating and deeply satisfying reimagining of Romantic chamber music.