(c) Titouan Massé
Surrounded by Chamber Music since their youngest age, Luka Ispir (violin), Raphaël Jouan (cello) and Alexis Gournel (piano) have been exploring with passion the gorgeous repertoire for piano trio.
After meeting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, they founded the Hélios Trio in 2014. They have had the opportunity to play in different venues such as the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Salle Cortot, the Phoenix Hall in Osaka... They are regularly invited to numerous festivals such as the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron, the "Folles Journées" (Nantes, Tokyo, and Warsaw), Festival Pablo Casals in Prades, Rencontres Musicales d'Evian, Choriner Musiksommer Festival, Cecilia Concerts, Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise… They have toured in many countries (Japan, China, Morocco, Canada, Spain, Germany, Poland, etc.). and have been broadcasted on medias such as Medici.tv and radios France Musique, Radio Classique, Musiq3 (Belgium), Kulturhaus Radio (Austria)…
Since 2016, the trio had the opportunity to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto several times in Paris, Rennes, Lyon and Metz, as well as during a tour in Northern Germany with the Philharmonisches Orchester Vorpommern.
Over the past years, they have gained visibility through several international prizes such as their 2nd Prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2018, as well as their Special Prize at the Liszt Competition and 2nd Prize at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition in 2019, and the KammerMusik Preis (2018), Klavierkammermusik Preis and Wiener Klassik Preis (2019) at the Isa Festival in Reichenau, Austria. In 2024, they were awarded the Kammermusikpreis Hasselburg by the Stahlberg Foundation.
Their first CD “D’un matin de printemps” was released in 2021 with the label Mirare. With an all french program (Ravel, Saint-Saêns, Boulanger), the album was critically acclaimed, and in 2023 the Trio released their second album “Bohemia”. This time with a czech program (Smetana, Novàk, Fibich) they have been awarded the CHOC Classica.
They studied at the CNSMD of Paris (Bachelor & Master’s degree then Artist Diploma) and are ECMA alumnis (European Chamber Music Academy). They have received the teachings of Johannes Meissl, Patrick Jüdt, Trio Wanderer, Hatto Beyerle, Avedis Kouyoumdjian...
The Trio is “Ensemble en résidence” at the Fondation Singer-Polignac, and is represented by the Claire Laballery Agency.