Elisabeth Leonskaja has been one of the best pianists in the world for decades. On March 11th, the Viennese by choice will play with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover. She spoke to NDR Kultur about the concert beforehand.
“The most heavenly thing I’ve ever heard,” says conductor Andrew Manze about a recording with the young Elisabeth Leonskaja and Swjatoslaw Richter – meaning the Mozart sonata arranged by Edvard Grieg. Leonskaja delighted the audience at an early age, for example when she was eleven in Tbilisi, where she was born to Russian parents in 1945. In 1964 she went to the Moscow Conservatory. As a student, Leonskaja won various prizes at international piano competitions. The exceptional talent was sponsored by the famous pianist Swjatoslaw Richter.
–
The pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja from Tbilisi has lived in Vienna for decades.
–
Leonskaja’s center of life has been Vienna since 1978. She is an honorary member of the Wiener Konzerthaus and in 2006 received the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class for special services to the culture of the country. But the pianist places little value on that: the music is important to her, not the trimmings. She plays with the big orchestras, but also likes to play chamber music again and again.
AUDIO: The grande dame of the piano: Elisabeth Leonskaja (5 min)
–
–
–
Star guest at SHMF and Festspiele MV
In recent years, Elisabeth Leonskaja’s appearances have been one of the highlights of North German music festivals. It impressed at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival as well as at the MV Festival. A guest performance at the SHMF is also planned for 2021 – if everything can take place as planned despite the corona pandemic. “I think I was there for the first time in 1987. It was always wonderful. It really is a beautiful area, the people are open-minded,” recalls the pianist in an interview with NDR Kultur. “It was a great idea from Justus Frantz and (Christoph) Eschenbach to bring this festival to life.”
This evening is all about Elisabeth Leonskaja – the pianist of the century from Tbilisi. more
–
–
–
–
Corona pandemic hits Leonskaya hard
After decades of concerts, recordings and many commitments, the corona pandemic hit the artist, who received the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for her life’s work in 2020, completely suddenly. “At first it all came so unexpectedly, it was as if I had hit a pane of glass. I was in a state of shock for a month. And slowly it became clear: the work on oneself must continue,” said Leonskaja about her experience with the crisis .
Manze and Leonskaja are looking forward to a concert together
–
Andrew Manze has been chief conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie since 2014.
–
The grande dame of the piano is currently working on a Mozart album – and will be performing with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover on March 11th. “I am absolutely thrilled that Elisabeth Leonskaja is here with us!” Said chief conductor Andrew Manze to NDR Kultur. Leonskaja is also looking forward to the cooperation: “I am very fond of this orchestra. A few years ago I played Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 2 with them, that was also at the SHMF, in this beautiful hall in Lübeck.”
Elisabeth Leonskaja will begin with Edward Elgar’s three-movement string serenade, the original version of which was entitled “Spring Song”. The focus of the evening is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s famous Piano Concerto No. 23. The concert is rounded off by Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 in F major. Conductor Andrew Manze admits that he is a big Leonskaja fan: “Your view of Mozart is not romantic, nor is it what is called historically informed. It’s a poetic approach, but I think it’s wonderful,” Manze told NDR Kultur. “And whenever we hear great musicians play great works, we learn something from them. So I am very happy that Elisabeth Leonskaja is here with Mozart.”
Symphony concert
Do, 11.03.2021 | 8:04 pm | live on NDR Kultur
Andrew Manze Conductor Elisabeth Leonskaja piano NDR Radiophilharmonie
Edward Elgar Serenade for strings in E minor op.20 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 3 F-Dur op. 90
–
