Franz Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas Elisabeth Leonskaja

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 784:
• 1 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 784: I. Allegro giusto 12:28
• 2 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 784: II. Andante 04:21
• 3 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 784: III. Allegro vivace 05:46
• Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894:
• 4 Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894: I. Molto moderato e cantabile 20:13
• 5 Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894: II. Andante 09:14
• 6 Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894: III. Menuetto. Allegro moderato – Trio 04:56
• 7 Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894: IV. Allegretto 09:06
• Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845:
• 8 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845: I. Moderato 11:31
• 9 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845: II. Andante poco moto 13:00
• 10 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845: III. Scherzo. Alegro vivace – Trio. un poco più lento 07:51
• 11 Piano Sonata in A Minor, D. 845: IV. Rondo. Allegro vivace 05:46
• Piano Sonata in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner":
• 12 Piano Sonata in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner": I. Allegro 09:44
• 13 Piano Sonata in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner": II. Andante con moto 13:39
• 14 Piano Sonata in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner": III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 10:10
• 15 Piano Sonata in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner": IV. Rondo. Allegro moderato 08:05
• Piano Sonata in C Major, D 840 "Reliquie":
• 16 Piano Sonata in C Major, D 840 "Reliquie": I. Moderato 16:20
• 17 Piano Sonata in C Major, D 840 "Reliquie": II. Andante 09:11
• Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959:
• 18 Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959: I. Allegro 16:42
• 19 Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959: II. Andantino 07:41
• 20 Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959: III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio. un poco più lento 04:55
• 21 Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959: IV. Rondo. Allegretto 12:27
• Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958:
• 22 Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: I. Allegro 11:54
• 23 Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: II. Adagio 08:14
• 24 Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: III. Menuetto. Allegro – Trio 04:02
• 25 Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: IV. Allegro 09:37
• Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960:
• 26 Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960: I. Molto moderato 22:31
• 27 Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960: II. Andante sostenuto 09:36
• 28 Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960: III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza 04:38
• 29 Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960: IV. Allegro ma non troppo 08:56
• Total Runtime 04:52:34

Info for Franz Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas

Elisabeth Leonskaja feels life, people and music intuitively. Long standing friendships and continuous work on certain repertoire, like the Schubert Piano Sonatas, define the essence of her being. She doesn't give up and looks for answers only in herself. Just like life, music is a pilgrimage. There is a spiritual goal and one should keep an open heart and listen to one's own intuition, in order to advance, stay inwardly healthy and grow on this path.

For her 70th birthday, eaSonus releases Leonskaja’s Schubert of today. Her Schubert breaths and conveys five decades of presence on stage, during which she always felt a great responsibility to her public. The big book format of this release (280mm/280mm) contains four albums with the last eight piano sonatas (D 784 till D 960).

It is with great happiness that we accompany Elisabeth Leonskaja’s pilgrimage and hope very much that this birthday present will make many even happier.

Elisabeth Leonskaja is a Georgian born, Vienna based pianist who grew up in the Soviet era and learnt at the feet of one of Russia’s legendary pianists Sviatoslav Richter. But as a Jew she had to leave in the mid-70's to pursue her career as a pianist. She's still touring at 70.

Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano

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.

This album contains no booklet.