Luz Leskowitz (born 7 August 1943) is an Austrian violinist, founder of the Salzburg Soloists music ensemble. He is an owner of the ex-Prihoda

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

violin made in 1707.Cozio.com: violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1707 (In English)
Club-Carriere Luz Leskowitz (In German)
/ref>

Early career

Leskowitz was born in Salzburg into a family of musicians. He began playing violin at the age of six. At age thirteen he moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study at the

Vienna Academy of Music en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. His teacher at the academy was a Czech violinist,

Váša Příhoda Váša Příhoda (22 August 1900Nicolas Slonimsky, ed. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed.26 July 1960) was a Czech violinist and minor composer. Considered a Paganini specialist, his recording of the Violin Concerto in A minor ...

, later followed by an Argentinian-Austrian-American violinist,

Ricardo Odnoposoff Ricardo Odnoposoff (February 24, 1914 – October 26, 2004) was a Jewish Argentine-Austrian-American violinist of the 20th century. He was a former concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic. He was dismissed on September 1, 19 ...

. After his study in the Academy he moved back to Salzburg to study in the Mozarteum University. Parallel to his university classes he took lessons in violin and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

from viola soloist

Ernst Wallfisch Ernst Wallfisch (27 May 1920 in Frankfurt am Main – 8 May 1979 in Northampton, Massachusetts) was a prominent viola soloist, recording artist and pedagogue, primarily remembered along with his wife, pianist Lory Wallfisch, as partners of the Wall ...

. After graduation he received an invitation from

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

, one of the greatest violinists of the century, to become a music teacher for his school in London. Collaboration with

deeply influenced the young violinist.

Music

At the age of twenty, Luz Leskowitz made his debut performances in London (

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

and

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

), in New York (

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

), in Vienna (Golden Hall of the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

), in Milan (Verdi Hall) and in Hamburg (Music Hall of the

Hamburg Philharmonic The Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg (Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra) is an internationally renowned symphony orchestra based in Hamburg. As of 2015, Kent Nagano has been General Music Director (''Generalmusikdirektor'') and chief c ...

). His performances were received exceptionally well, which lead to more concerts around the world in Europe, USA, Russia, South America, the Middle East, and Far Eastern Asia. Every year he performs and gives

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es around the world, most often in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Luz Leskowitz performs

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

or as a part of a string ensemble. Often he or his ensemble is joined with other musicians forming a

chamber ensemble Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

. In 1979 Luz Leskowitz organised his first ensemble "Salzburg Soloists" (german: link=no, Salzburger Solisten)Arien Artists, Salzburger Solisten (In English)
/ref> which was followed by two other ensembles called "Salzburg Mozart Players" (german: link=no, Salzburger Mozartspieler)" and "Salzburg Soloists Trio" (german: link=no, Salzburger Solistentrio). Luz Leskowitz often performs with "Salzburg Soloists" in Europe, Russia, and around the globe. He and his ensembles collaborated with such musicians and ensembles as Vasily Shcherbakov,

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he perform ...

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations ...

Ingrid Haebler Ingrid Haebler (born 20 June 1929) is an Austrian pianist. She studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna Music Academy, Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and privately in Paris with Marguerite Long. She toured worldwide. She is best known for ...

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

Jeremy Menuhin Jeremy Louis Eugene Menuhin (born 2 November 1951) is a composer and pianist and the son of violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Early life Menuhin was born in San Francisco, California, the fourth son of his father Yehudi Menuhin and the second of his mot ...

, the “ Oistrakh-Family”,

Norbert Brainin Norbert Brainin, OBE (12 March 1923 in Vienna – 10 April 2005 in London) was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets. Because of Brainin's Jewish origin, he was driven out of Vie ...

David Geringas David Geringas ( lt, Dovydas Geringas; born 29 July 1946 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the b ...

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. He ...

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

Hermann Baumann Hermann Baumann may refer to: * Hermann Baumann (social anthropologist) (1902–1972), German Africa expert * Hermann Baumann (musician) Hermann Baumann (born 1 August 1934) is a German horn player. Biography After starting his musical career ...

Karl Leister Karl Leister (born 15 June 1937) is a classical clarinet player from Wilhelmshaven, Germany. At a very young age, he learned to play the clarinet from his father, also a clarinetist, and later studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. As ...

Michala Petri Michala Petri (born July 7, 1958) is a Danish recorder player. Her debut as a soloist was in 1969. She is the step-granddaughter of Danish actress Ingeborg Brams. Biography Petri, who began playing the recorder at the age of three, is noted for ...

Sharon Bezaly Sharon Bezaly ( he, שרון בצלי; born 1972) is a flutist. Bezaly was born in Israel, but lives presently in Sweden. She has been an international performer since 1997, when she began her solo flute career. She made her solo debut at 13 w ...

, Peter Wispelway, Hakan Hardenberger,

Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a retired Dutch soprano, who was particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the glo ...

, Bartok Quartet, Lark Quartet, Voces Quartet, Kocian Quartet, and the Amati Ensemble.

ex-Prihoda

Luz Leskowitz owns and plays a

violin made by

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloq ...

in the city of

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

in 1707. The official ID number for the violin is 3652 and although the violin has not been given an official

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

, it is often called ex-Prihoda, by the name of the previous owner, teacher of Luz Leskowitz, Czech violinist

. Because of the famous nature of such an instrument, it is often mentioned in the concert announcements, especially in Russia and Eastern Europe.Yaroslavl Philharmonic (In Russian)
/ref>Zabaikalskaya Philharmonic (In Russian)
/ref>

Festivals

Under the impression by Yehudi Menuhin

Gstaad Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the internatio ...

Music Festival, Luz Leskowitz in 1970 organised his first

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

festival in Hamburg, called Harzburger Musiktage. The festival was successful and was followed by more festivals in Austria, Germany, and Romania. Currently he is the head of such festivals as "May Festival in the

Rellingen Rellingen is a municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km east of Pinneberg, and 10 km northwest of Hamburg. Population as of December 31, 2007 is 13,746. The total land ...

Cathedral" (german: link=no, Mai Festival Rellinger Kirche) which first ran in 1986 and the "International Music Ferstival at the

Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...

Castle" (german: link=no, Internationale Musikfestwoche at Schloss Berleburg), run since 1972. Leskowitz is often invited to be on juries of international music competitions. Every year he takes part in organising FLAMES competition in Paris. He also founded the "

Yuzhnouralsk Yuzhnouralsk (russian: Южноура́льск) is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Uvelka River south of Chelyabinsk. Population: History It was founded in 1948. Town status was granted to it on February 1, 1963.. It ...

—

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

" (russian: link=no, Южноуральск—Зальцбург) music competition, one of the rare international music competitions in Russia held outside major cities.Moscow International David Oistrakh Piano Competition, Luz Leskowitz (In English and Russian)
/ref> In 1991 Luz Leskowitz took over the "Salzburg Palace Concerts" (german: link=no, Salzburger Schlosskonzerte) concert series first organised in 1954, becoming the Artistic Director. Salzburger Schlosskonzerte is based in the Marble Hall of the

Mirabell Palace Mirabell Palace (german: Schloss Mirabell) is a historic building in the city of Salzburg, Austria. The palace with its gardens is a listed cultural heritage monument and part of the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg UNESCO World Heritage Si ...

. Every year more than 230 concerts are performed under the Salzburger Schlosskonzerte name.

Discography

Luz Leskowitz appeared solo or as part of an ensemble on a number of albums under several music labels, including

Cetra Records Cetra was an Italian record company, active between 1933 and 1957, the year in which, by merging with Fonit (Fonodisco Italiano Trevisan), it gave birth to Fonit Cetra. Its roster of artists included Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Lina Pagliughi, E ...

Syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, sh ...

, Mirabell,

Arte Nova Classics Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, EMI-Classics,

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings. ...

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...

Point Classics Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, One Media,

X5 Music Group X5 Music Group is a record label based in Stockholm, Sweden with a branch in Manhattan, New York. Founded in 2003, it is a digital-only label that primarily licenses pre-existing music for compilation albums. X5 originally focused on classical mus ...

, BFM Digital, and Ok Records. * 1996 — Johannes Brahms String Sextets Nos. 1, 2 (Label:

) * 1997 — Chamber Music of Europe (Label:

) * 1997 — Brahms: Piano and Chamber Music (Label:

) * 2002 — Mozart: Flute Quartets (Label:

) * 2005 — The Best of Mozart (Label:

) * 2005 — #1 Classical -Concertos for flute (Label:

) * 2006 — Mozart: Gran Partita (Label:

) * 2008 — Mozart: Flute & Harp Concerto - Flute Concertos Nos. 1, 2 (Label:

Savoy Label Group Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

) * 2008 — Mozart: Quartets for Flute and String Trio - Divertimento No. 15 (Label:

, BFM Digital) * 2008 — Stamitz: Quartet for Oboe - Sonata for Viola & Piano - Symphony for 2 Oboes, 2 Horns & Strings (Label:

, BFM Digital) * 2008 — Mozart: Cassation No. 2 - Divertimentos K. 156 & 251 (Label:

, BFM Digital) * 2009 — Mozart: The Flute Concertos & Andante In C Major (Label:

) * 2010 — Mozart: Quintet for Clarinet & Strings K. 581 "Stadler Quintet" (Label: One Media) * 2010 — Mozart: Divertimento No.15 for 2 Horns & Strings in B Flat Major K. 287 "London Serenade No.2" (Label: One Media) * 2010 — Mozart: Flute Concerto No.1 & No.2 (Label: One Media) * 2010 — Mozart: Flute Concerto No.4 in A Major K. 298 (Label: One Media) * 2011 — Mozart: Symphony No.36 - Flute Quartet - Salzburg Symphony No.1 (Label: Ok Records)

Films

Luz Leskowitz played a minor role in the 2001 French-Austrian film The Piano Teacher, appearing as a violinist.Cinema Luz Leskowitz (In German)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leskowitz, Luz 1943 births Living people Austrian classical violinists Male classical violinists 20th-century classical violinists 21st-century classical violinists Musicians from Salzburg University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians