In 2023 the Trust created an award ‘in memory of Ilona Eibenschütz’ to support the studies of a postgraduate student of piano at the Royal College of Music.

Ilona Eibenschütz (1871 – 1967) was a distinguished late-19th century concert pianist. She was Clara Schumann’s last pupil and a friend of Brahms, and, following her marriage, spent her later life in London, where she was known to the Trust’s Founder, Dr Anderson. The award was made possible by the recent private sale of the Steinway grand piano that formerly belonged to Ilona Eibenschütz, and on which her last recordings were made.

Ilona Eibenschutz. This image is made available via Wikimedia Commons (here) under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

The holder of the award, for the academic years 2023-4 and 2024-5 is Louis-Victor Bak.

©The Musician’s Photographer

Born in France, Louis-Victor Bak is a solo and chamber music pianist. After starting the piano at the age of fourteen, following seven years of flute studies, Louis-Victor was taught by Chrystel Saussac at the Conservatoire de Lyon (CRR), and Laurent Boullet in Berlin. He moved to London in 2019 to study at the Royal College of Music with Edna Stern. In 2023, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music and is now pursuing his studies for a Master of Performance under the guidance of Edna Stern and Vanessa Latarche.

You can follow Louis-Victor’s progress via his website, here.

For more on the various other ways in which the Trust supports students and scholars, please see here.