For decades, Elisabeth Leonskaya has been one of the most celebrated pianists of our time. While still a student, she won a number of international piano competitions including the Enescu, the Marguerite Long and the Queen Elizabeth. Her musical development was unmistakably shaped by her collaboration and friendship with Sviatoslav Richter.

Elisabeth Leonskaya left the Soviet Union in 1978 and made her home in Vienna. Since then, she has performed as soloist with almost all of the first-class orchestras in the world. She makes regular appearances at festivals in Vienna, Schleswig Holstein, Schwarzenberg and Hohenems. With her solo recitals she also features in the piano series at the great musical centres – from Paris and Vienna to Tokyo. Despite all her solo activities, chamber music still retains an important place in her work.

In her adopted home of Austria, this pianist is an honorary member of the Vienna Konzerthaus. In 2006, Elisabeth Leonskaya was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour, First Class, for Science and Arts. In 2016 in Georgia, she was appointed Priestess of Art, the country’s highest artistic award. In 2020 she was awarded the International Classical Music Award for her life’s achievement. Her numerous recordings are also testament to her outstanding artistic success. Her highly acclaimed album of Mozart sonatas was released in February 2022.

Florian Donderer is first violin of Signum Quartet, one of the most adventurous and outstanding string quartets of today, as well as longstanding concertmaster of The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen. He is a versatile musician, highly valued as chamber musician, soloist, concertmaster and conductor, collaborating with distinguished musicians such as Paavo Järvi, Steven Isserlis, Lars Vogt, Viktoria Mullova, Elisabeth Leonskaja and his wife and brother in law, Tanja and Christian Tetzlaff.

Florian Donderer is frequent guest at major festivals such as Bergen Festspielen, Beethovenfest Bonn, Festwochen Berlin, Schwetzinger Festspiele and is core member at ›Spannungen‹, one of Germany’s most prominent music festivals, founded by Pianist Lars Vogt. Concerts with Signum Quartet have taken him to international podia from Berlin‘s Boulez-Saal and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg to London’s Wigmore Hall and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Florian Donderer is especially renowned as an artistic leader, directing orchestras from the concertmaster’s desk. Top Chamber Orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Bern, invite him as director and soloist. Last year‘s recording ›Haydn and Bach Cello Concertos‹ with Steven Isserlis, Florian Donderer and The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen has received a Grammy Nomination. He made his debut as conductor with Ensemble Oriol and Christiane Oelze at Berlin Philharmonic Hall, followed by a CD recording with Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen and Tanja Tetzlaff. He has conducted among others the Kammerakademie Neuss, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim and Festival Strings Lucerne. This year Florian Donderer has taken on the position of artistic director of the chamber music festival of the city of Rottweil, one of Germany’s longest standing festivals. With his wife, Tanja Tetzlaff he is curating a chamber music series at Sendesaal Bremen.

He plays a violin built by German Violinmaker Peter Greiner in 2003 and bows by Nico Plog from Antwerp.