Berg, Schoenberg & Webern: Piano Works Elisabeth Leonskaja

• Alban Berg (1885 - 1935): Piano Sonata in B Minor, Op. 1:
• 1 Berg: Piano Sonata in B Minor, Op. 1 12:39
• Anton Webern (1883 - 1945): Variations for Piano, Op. 27:
• 2 Webern: Variations for Piano, Op. 27: I. Sehr mäßig 02:01
• 3 Webern: Variations for Piano, Op. 27: II. Sehr schnell 00:40
• 4 Webern: Variations for Piano, Op. 27: III. Ruhig, fließend 03:47
• Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951): 3 Pieces, Op. 11:
• 5 Schoenberg: 3 Pieces, Op. 11: No. 1, Mässige Viertel 04:48
• 6 Schoenberg: 3 Pieces, Op. 11: No. 2, Mässige Achtel 08:12
• 7 Schoenberg: 3 Pieces, Op. 11: No. 3, Bewegte Achtel 03:24
• 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19:
• 8 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 1, Leicht, zart 01:25
• 9 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 2, Langsam 00:46
• 10 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 3, Sehr langsam 00:55
• 11 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 4, Rasch, aber leicht 00:29
• 12 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 5, Etwas rasch 00:47
• 13 Schoenberg: 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 : No. 6, Sehr langsam 01:18
• Suite, Op. 25:
• 14 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: I. Präludium 01:18
• 15 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: II. Gavotte 01:25
• 16 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: III. Musette 01:36
• 17 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: IV. Gavotte da capo 01:31
• 18 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: V. Intermezzo 04:54
• 19 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: VI. Menuett 02:03
• 20 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: VII. Trio 00:37
• 21 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: VIII. Menuett da capo 01:35
• 22 Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 25: IX. Gigue 03:45
• Total Runtime 59:55

Info for Berg, Schoenberg & Webern: Piano Works

One of the most celebrated pianists of our time, remaining true to herself and to her music, and in doing so, is following in the footsteps of the great Russian musicians of the Soviet era. This album pays tribute to the Second Viennese School, featuring works by Berg, Schoenberg and Webern.

Masterful miniatures of the Viennese school: ‘A septuagenarian with the energy and agility of a player half her age and the wisdom of age in her playing,’ wrote the British newspaper The Observer in 2022 about Elisabeth Leonskaja. As one of the most important pianists of our time, she combines the musical traditions of Vienna and her Soviet homeland. And so, to mark Arnold Schoenberg's 150th birthday on 13 September 2024, the Viennese by choice is releasing an album dedicated entirely to the Second Viennese School. Leonskaja has selected gems from the works of Schoenberg and his two best-known pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern, with which the 2020 Opus Klassik winner covers a diverse spectrum: She opens with Berg's Piano Sonata Op. 1, which is orientated towards the home key of B minor in the Romantic tradition. Webern, on the other hand, handled Schoenberg's twelve-tone system even more strictly than the inventor himself. In his Variations for Piano Op. 27, he develops each movement on its own twelve-tone row. With this album, however, Elisabeth Leonskaja focuses on Schönberg's works. The Three Pieces Op. 11 from 1909 are among his first atonal works, while the Six Little Piano Pieces Op. 19, composed three years later, are already masterful miniatures. Compressed into a very small space, they alternate between a wide variety of colours, from bold to resigned. Schönberg's Suite for Piano Op. 25 is also made up of short individual pieces. Here he combines twelve-tone technique with the dances of the Baroque. Rhythmically inventive to eccentrically humorous, the gavotte, musette and minuet follow one another.

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.

Booklet for Berg, Schoenberg & Webern: Piano Works