Leonard Elschenbroich
Visiting Professor of Cello
Described by the New York Times as “a musician of great technical prowess, intellectual curiosity and expressive depth”, Leonard Elschenbroich has established himself as one of the most charismatic cellists of his generation. His many awards include the 2009 Leonard Bernstein Award, Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk, Eugene Istomin Prize, and a Borletti Buitoni Trust Award. He was accepted onto the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme (2012), was named Artist-in-Residence of Deutschlandfunk (2014-15) and Artist-in-Residence at the Philharmonic Society Bremen from 2013 – 2016
Elschenbroich has worked with a number of eminent conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Christoh Eschenbach, Charles Dutoit, Manfred Honeck, Kirill Karabits, Dmitri Kitajenko, Andrew Litton, Juanjo Mena, Edward Gardner, and Yan-Pascal Tortelier. He has has performed with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, NDR Hanover, Dresden Staatskapelle, Bergen Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Swedish Radio Symphony, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Nagoya Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Minnesota Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has made seven appearances at the BBC Proms.
As a recitalist, Elschenbroich has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, Auditorium du Louvre, Concertgebouw, Frick Collection, Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the Lucerne, Gstaad, Rheingau, Mecklenburg Vorpommern and Schleswig Holstein Festivals. Regular chamber music partners include Nicola Benedetti and Alexei Grynyuk.
A committed supporter of contemporary music, Elschenbroich has commissioned several new works from composers including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Luca Lombardi, Arlene Sierra and Suzanne Farrin. In April 2018 he gives the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s Cello Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, a work that has been especially written for him on a commission from the BBC. He recently gave the world premiere of Brian Elias’ Cello Concerto at the BBC Proms and has also championed concertos by Gilbert Amy, Marc-Anthony Turnage, Peteris Vasks, and Magnus Lindberg.
In 2012 he became Artistic Mentor of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bolivia, the country’s first national orchestra which he co-founded. His commitment to the orchestra sees him return to Bolivia on a regular basis to perform with the orchestra as well as leading educational projects in the area. Other highlights in South America have included appearances with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Belo Horizonte Orchestra and Medellin Philharmonic as well as recitals in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima and Sao Paulo.
In 2017/18 he will return to the Bergen Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as well as returning twice to the BBC Philharmonic. Debut appearances include the Warsaw Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, National Polish Radio Symphony and the Filharmónica de Sevilla. Recital engagements take him to Spain, Germany and the UK and he tours North America with the Benedetti-Elschenbroich-Grynyuk Trio.
Image © Felix Broede
