Elisabeth Leonskaja

Elisabeth Leonskaja is a Russian-Georgian pianist long regarded as one of the great pianists of our time. She studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where she won prizes at the Enescu, Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud, and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competitions, and her musical development was profoundly shaped by her close friendship and collaboration with Sviatoslav Richter. Since leaving the Soviet Union in 1978 and settling in Vienna, she has performed with the world's finest orchestras and appears regularly at major festivals and recital series from Paris to Melbourne. She is an honorary member of the Vienna Konzerthaus, has received the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, and was awarded the ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

In the 2026/27 season Elisabeth Leonskaja makes her Iceland debut with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 with Tomas Hanus, Iceland Symphony's Principal Guest Conductor.