Leonard Elschenbroich

Described by the New York Times as “a musician of great technical prowess, intellectual curiosity and expressive depth,” Leonard Elschenbroich has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras. A celebrated and award-winning cellist, his journey towards conducting began when he co-founded the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bolivia, the first orchestra in the nation’s history to perform a Mahler Symphony, in 2012, and whom he still visits regularly for concerts and educational projects. This experience led him to explore the art of conducting further with orchestras across Europe and Latin America, eventually pursuing a Master’s degree at Berlin’s Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule, studying orchestra, choral and opera conducting with Christian Ehwald and Markus Stenz, from which he graduated in 2023.

Recent and forthcoming highlights include engagements with the Residentie Orkest, the London Mozart Players, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Sinfonia Smith Square, and with Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, where he conducts Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Wagner’s Siegfried-Idyll, among others. Elschenbroich was the Assistant Conductor of The Dutch National Opera’s co-premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, and he was promptly re-invited to return for the world premiere of Michel van der Aa’s Theory of Flames.

Following his debut with the Orchestra at the Reform in London in autumn 2024, Elschenbroich was asked to become the orchestra’s Music Director, a position created especially for him. For his first season in the role, Elschenbroich has curated a programme centred around “Hindsight is 2020: Utopianism in 1820, 1920… and today?”, inviting guest soloists such as Lotte Betts-Dean, Ava Bahari and Elisabeth Brauß. Additionally, he conducts Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”, Mozart’s Symphonies No. 33 and 40, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 with the Corinthian Orchestra, where he is a regular guest.

As a cellist, highlights of Leonard’s career include his Vienna Musikverein debut on a European Tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden, his US debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, his Asian debut with the Japan Philharmonic at Suntory Hall Tokyo, and five appearances at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. He has released a number of critically acclaimed concerto and chamber recordings on the Onyx Classics label.

To read about Leonard’s accomplishments as a cellist, please visit here.

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