On their debut album, The Rödberg Trio showcases Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn’s works on period instruments. As children, the two composers both received the same, first-class education. However, it is widely and lazily accepted that only a man could dedicate his life to music, while a woman couldn’t, and so it is hardly surprising that Fanny’s catalogue of works is much more concise than that of her brother. The Rödberg Trio wished to reflect the siblings through a pair of works written for the same chamber ensemble. Though their respective musical languages share many points of similarity, their individual artistic personalities shine through in a fascinating manner. The trio decided to omit the standard composer biography from the album’s booklet, and instead the space is dedicated to pianist Matleena Nyman’s incisive essay exploring women’s role in the music world today.

Founded in 2010, the Rödberg Trio specialises in the performance of Classical and Romantic works using period instruments. Their shared love for seeking out the individual mode of expression of each piece they play has brought them together from very different fields of music-making. The members of the trio are regular guests at some of the most prestigious concert halls and chamber-music festivals across Europe.

Pianist Joonas Ahonen’s musical interests take him from performing late 18th-century music on the fortepiano to giving premiere performances of the music of our times. He is a member of Klangforum Wien, an ensemble concentrating primarily on new directions in contemporary music. Over the years, he has performed as a soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and Ictus. Ahonen attended the Sibelius Academy as a student of Tuija Hakkila and Liisa Pohjola.

In addition to performing as a chamber musician, violinist Antti Tikkanen appears regularly as a soloist and orchestra leader and guest concertmaster with ensembles including the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Tikkanen teaches at the Sibelius Academy and he is also a member of the Meta4 String Quartet. He studied at the Sibelius Academy with Mi-Kyung Lee, as well as at the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA), where his most significant teachers included Hatto Beyerle and Johannes Meissl.

Markus Hohti is equally at home on the Baroque cello, appearing at chamber-music festivals, and exploring the world of contemporary music. He performs actively as a soloist, chamber musician and with his own ensembles defunensemble and Uusinta Ensemble. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Salzburger Biennale, the Lucerne Festival, Our Festival, the Kuhmo Chamber Music, at the Zürich Tonhalle, the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and the Berliner Philharmonie. Hohti initially studied at the Sibelius Academy with Martti Rousi, in Basel with Thomas Demenga, and has studied Baroque cello with Markku Luolajan-Mikkola.