Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4 Elisabeth Leonskaja

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58:
• 1 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: I. Allegro moderato 19:49
• 2 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: II. Andante con moto 05:03
• 3 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: III. Rondo (Vivace) 10:54
• Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37:
• 4 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37: I. Allegro moderato 17:20
• 5 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37: II. Largo 10:09
• 6 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37: III. Rondo (Allegro) 09:27
• Total Runtime 01:12:42

Info for Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4

Auf ihrem zweiten Warner Classics-Album spielt sie Beethovens Klavierkonzerte 3 und 4, aufgenommen mit dem Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse unter der Leitung von Tugan Sokhiev. Als eine der gefeiertsten Pianistinnen unserer Zeit bleibt sie sich und ihrer Musik treu und tritt damit in die Fußstapfen großer russischer Musiker wie Sviatoslav Richter und Emil Gilels. Die französische Zeitschrift Diapason hat geschrieben: "Elisabeth Leonskajas Weg führt von einem Höhepunkt zum nächsten. Indem sie sich ständig selbst übertrifft, angetrieben von ihren eigenen persönlichen Ansprüchen, ihrer Leidenschaft und ihrer Intelligenz, hat sie sich einen Platz unter den Größten verdient, nicht nur in der Gegenwart, sondern auch in der Vergangenheit." Als Gewinnerin des renommierten deutschen Opus-Klassik-Preises 2020 wird sie als eine Interpretin bewundert, die die Wahrheit der Musik respektiert.

"Wenn ich spiele, präsentiere ich nicht mich selbst auf der Bühne, sondern die Musik, die ich spiele. Es ist die Musik, die zählt." (Elisabeth Leonskaja)

Elisabeth Leonskaja, Klavier
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Tugan Sokhiev, Dirigent

Elisabeth Leonskaja
has long been among the most celebrated pianists of our times. In a world dominated by commercial media, she has remained true to herself and to music, in the tradition of great Russian musicians such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. Like them, she has always stood for the quintessence of music even under the most difficult political conditions. And like them, she has never been interested in showy appearances. On stage, however, she overwhelms the audience with the power of the music; this has been the substance and the goal of her life.

Born into a Russian family in Tbilisi, Elisabeth Leonskaja gave her first concerts at the age of eleven. While still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, she won prizes at major international piano competitions, including the Enescu Prize, the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition and the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Prize. Her musical development was decisively influenced by her collaboration with Sviatoslav Richter who recognized her exceptional talent and encouraged her by inviting her to play duo concerts with him. This musical and personal friendship continued until Richter’s death in 1997.

Leonskaja left the Soviet Union in 1978 and made Vienna her home. Since then, she has performed as soloist with the world’s finest orchestras and has worked with many renowned conductors. She is a regular guest at numerous international festivals, such as the Wiener Festwochen, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Schuertiade Schwarzenberg, the Spring Festival Tokyo and the December Nights in Moscow. Her name is also to be found among international recitalists in the most prominent piano series of major musical centers oft he world from Paris to Vienna to Melbourne.

In addition to her many solo engagements, chamber music remains an important part of her work. She has performed many times with string quartets, such as the Belcea, Borodin Artemis and Jerusalem quartets. She also had a longstanding musical friendship with the Alban Berg Quartet, and their piano quintet recordings are legendary.

Numerous LPs and CDs bear witness to the pianist’s high artistic level, and her recordings have repeatedly been awarded prizes. The most recent appeared on eaSonus (www.easonus.com). “Paris”, with works by Ravel, Enescu and Debussy, was named the Solo Recording of the Year 2014 by the ICMA Jury. “Saudade”, an homage to Russian culture with works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff, was released in November 2017. A complete recording of Franz Schubert’s piano sonatas in two volumes of four CDs each has been available since April 2016 and May 2019 respectively. A double-CD with variations and sonatas by Robert Schumann followed in January 2020.

In her second homeland, Austria, Elisabeth Leonskaja is an honorary member of the Vienna Konzerthaus. In 2006 she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class, for her outstanding service to the culture of the country. It is the highest award in Austria. In Georgia, she was named Priestess of Art in 2016, this country’s highest artistic honor. In 2020 she received the International Classical Music (ICMA) Lifetime Achievement Award.

Booklet for Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4