For decades, Elisabeth Leonskaja has been one of the most celebrated pianists of our time. Born in Tbilissi, she left the Soviet Union for Austria in 1978 and celebrated the start of her great career with an acclaimed concert at the Salzburg Festival. Since then, she has performed worldwide as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and has given solo recitals in all of Europe’s major concert halls. She has enjoyed a close artistic relationship with The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen for many years.

Leonskaja’s early musical development was particularly influenced by her collaboration with her mentor Sviatoslav Richter, with whom she remained friends until his death in 1997. She also enjoyed a long-standing musical friendship with the Alban Berg Quartet. Their joint recordings are considered iconic. In addition to the numerous awards she has received for her extensive discography, this pianist was honoured with the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for her life’s work in 2020. More recently, she received the Wigmore Hall Medal in London in 2024.  Her latest solo album is dedicated to the Second Viennese School. In 2025, she released Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto, ›Emperor‹.

»…talent of the century«, so described the Tagesspiegel Tarmo Peltokoski. This Finnish conductor was appointed ›Principal Guest Conductor‹ by the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen in January 2022 – the first conductor to hold this position.

In recent seasons, Peltokoski has debuted at many major festivals, including the Rheingau Music Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, as well as in the great concert halls such as the Köln Philharmonie and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. In addition, he has given debuts with the hr-Sinfonieorchester and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. At just 22, Peltokoski conducted his first complete Ring Cycle as well as another significant Wagner work – Tristan und Isolde – at the Eurajoki Bel Canto Festival. In the same year, he was also appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest, Musical and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Designate of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

Tarmo Peltokoski conducted the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Hollywood Bowl. In 2023 Tarmo Peltokoski was awarded the OPUS Klassik for his recording with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen. In addition to piano and conducting, Peltokoski also studied composition and arranging and has a particular penchant for musical comedy and improvisation.