Elisabeth Leonskaja (born 23 November 1945) (In Russian: Елизавета Ильинична Леонская) is a Soviet and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

pianist. She was born to a family of Jewish and Polish extraction living in Tbilisi, then the capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. When Leonskaja was six and a half, her parents were able to buy her her first upright piano. At 7, she passed the entrance to one of Tbilisi's sixty music schools. At 11, she gave her orchestral debut with Beethoven's Piano Concerto in C Major (Op. 15), at 13 her first solo recital. At 14, she began an intense four-year period of study at the secondary school with a new piano teacher from Kiev, influenced by the Russian school of piano. In 1964, Elisabeth Leonskaja won the Enesco International Piano Competition in Bucharest. The judges included the composer and conductor Aram Khachaturian and the pianist

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

. In 1964, Leonskaja began studies in the Moscow Conservatory. During her conservatory years she won prizes in the

Enescu Enescu is a Romanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adrian Enescu (1948–2016), Romanian composer *Andrei Enescu (born 1987), Romanian footballer * George Enescu (1881–1955), Romanian classical violinist, pianist and composer ...

, Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...

international piano competitions in Bucharest, Paris and Brussels. Leonskaja left the Soviet Union in 1978 and has since then resided in Vienna. A notable recording of hers is of Edvard Grieg's piano transcriptions of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's piano sonatas K. 545 and K. 533/494, accompanied by Sviatoslav Richter, with whom she built a close friendship and collaboration. She recorded many years for Teldec, now for German label MD and gives many Masterclasses.

Decorations and awards

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

(2005) * Honorary citizen of Deutschlandsberg (1999)

References

External links

Elisabeth Leonskaja.
Official site with official photos and biography
Q&A: Elisabeth Leonskaja
(4 December 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonskaja, Elisabeth 1945 births Living people Musicians from Tbilisi Classical pianists from Georgia (country) Women pianists from Georgia (country) Russian classical pianists Russian women pianists Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners Soviet classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Jewish classical pianists Russian women musicians 21st-century classical pianists 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists