The Russian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja was born in Tbilisi and has been one of the most celebrated pianists of our time for decades. She won prizes at the Enescu, Marguerite Long and Queen Elisabeth international piano competitions while still a student. Her musical development was greatly influenced by her collaboration and friendship with Sviatoslav Richter.

She left the Soviet Union in 1978 and settled in Vienna. Since then, she has performed as a soloist with almost all of the world’s leading orchestras. She regularly performs at festivals in Vienna, Schleswig-Holstein, Schwarzenberg and Hohenems. She gives solo piano recitals as part of the concert series at major music centres around the world, from Paris to Vienna and Tokyo. Despite her extensive solo work, chamber music remains an important part of her repertoire.

Her release »Paris«, published by eaSonus and featuring works by Ravel, Enescu and Debussy, was named Solo Recording of the Year 2014 by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) jury. Her complete recording of Franz Schubert’s piano sonatas, spanning two volumes of four CDs, has been available since 2019. In January 2020, this was followed by a double CD featuring variations and piano sonatas by Robert Schumann. Since 2021, Elisabeth Leonskaja has been recording for Warner. A Mozart sonata cycle and Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 have already been released. This was followed by Schumann’s and Grieg’s piano concertos, as well as works for solo piano by the Second Viennese School.

In her second home, Austria, she is an honorary member of the Vienna Konzerthaus. In 2006, she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art First Class in recognition of her services to the country’s culture – Austria’s highest distinction. In 2016, she was named Priestess of Art in Georgia, the country’s highest honour for an artist. In 2020, she received the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in recognition of her lifetime’s work.