Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, to a Russian family, Elisabeth Leonskaja was regarded as a child prodigy and gave her first concerts as early as age 11.  While still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, she won prizes in the prestigious Enescu, Marguerite Long and Queen Elizabeth international piano competitions. Elisabeth Leonskaja’s musical development was shaped or influenced to a decisive degree by her collaboration with Sviatoslav Richter. The master recognized her exceptional talent and fostered her development not only through teaching and giving her advice, but also by inviting her to play numerous duets with him. The musical partnership and personal friendship between Sviatoslav Richter and Elisabeth Leonskaja endured until Richter’s death in 1997. In 1978 Elisabeth Leonskaja left the Soviet Union and made her new home in Vienna. Her sensational performance at the Salzburg Festival in 1979 marked the beginning of her steadily blossoming career as a concert pianist in the west. She is an Honorary Member of the Konzerhaus of Vienna and in 2006, she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour, First Class, for her services to the cultural life of the country - the highest award of its kind in Austria.

Her newest CD 'Paris' with works by Ravel, Debussy and Enescu was just released by the Berlin-based label EaSonus (www.easonus.com). A complete recording of the Schubert Sonatas will follow, also due to be released on eaSonus.