The Longwood University Chamber Music Series will present a concert of music for violin, cello, and fortepiano by The Eisenstadt Trio Tuesday, Feb. 18.

The concert will take place in the Molnar Recital Hall of Wygal Music Building at 7:30 p.m., with doors to open at 7:10 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.

Since 2000, The Eisenstadt Trio has been bringing a treasury of classical piano trios to life in colorful, vivacious, articulate performances that revive the spirit of their time. Named for the city where Joseph Haydn first served his patron, Prince Esterhazy, the trio makes music in the spirit of invention and joy that personifies Haydn’s style.

Using 18th-century instruments and playing styles, the Eisenstadt Trio unlocks the striking beauty and vitality of classical-era masterpieces. The unified vision displayed by these artists was fostered by studies at Cornell University, where each received the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Historical Performance.

Violinist Elizabeth Field is distinguished for her passionate and stylistic playing on both period and modern instruments. She teaches at George Washington University in Washington, DC, and serves a concertmaster of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, among many other activities. Stephanie Vial, cellist, has been praised for her technical flair and expressive sense of phrasing. A resident of Durham, she performs in many musical settings and teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Pianist Andrew Willis performs in the United States and abroad on pianos of every era. He serves as Covington Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and teaches music on instruments ranging from the harpsichord to the modern grand piano.

His performance will mark a return to the stage at Longwood, where he performed as soloist on the Chamber Music Series in 2008.

The program at Longwood will feature the fortepiano, a forerunner of the modern piano, and the authentic type of instrument used by the Viennese Classic composers of the late 1700s. The music will include a Divertimento by G.C. Wagenseil, two Trios by Joseph Haydn, and the Trio in C Minor, op. 1, No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Longwood University Chamber Music Series, now in its 33rd season, presents four concerts each year.

For more information about this concert, or to become a Series Patron please call the Longwood University Department of Music at 395-2495 or 395-2504.