Luz Leskowitz, Biography - Luz Leskowitz
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Luz Leskowitz
was born in Salzburg and started to play violin at the age of six. At the age of thirteen, he was admitted to the Music-Academy in Vienna where he studied with Vasa Prihoda and later with Riccardo Odnoposoff. At the Mozarteum in Salzburg, he studied viola and violin with Ernst Wallfisch. After that studies with Ernst Wallfisch in Lucerne and with Yehudi Menuhin in London. Luz started a successful career with concerts in Europe, the Far and the Middle East, Africa, the USA (New York - Carnegie recital-hall and Alice Tully hall in Lincoln Centre) South America, Russia, Korea and Japan.
Inspired by the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad Luz Leskowitz founded his first Chamber Music Festival in Germany, the Harzburger Musiktage in 1970. Motivated by the enormous success of his festival, he then founded 11 other International Chamber Music Festivals and Competitions in Austria, in Russia, in Korea, in Romania and all over Germany. Luz was the first and only one who started together with Hermann Baumann the “First International Hand-Horn Competition”. In 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Salzburger Solisten. Since its formation, the ensemble performs regularly all over the world (Vienna-Musikverein, Amsterdam-Concertgebouw, London-Wigmore Hall, Milano – Verdi-Hall, Moscow-Rachmaninow-hall/Conservatory etc.).
Luz Leskowitz’s chamber music partners in the past and at present are Paul Badura-Skoda, Wilhelm Kempff, Ingrid Haebler, Jörg Demus, Detlef Kraus, Jeremy Menuhin, Igor Oistrach, Alberto Lysy, Mstislav Rostropovitsch, David Geringas, Heinrich Schiff, Elly Ameling, Karl Leister, Hermann Baumann, Michala Petri, the Bartók-Quartet, Voces-Quartet, Members of the Amadeus Quartet and many, many others.
Luz Leskowitz recorded as soloist and chamber musician for Cetra, Syrinx, Mirabell, Arte Nova, Sony/Demusica, EMI-Classics, BIS and Brillant.
Since 1991, Luz Leskowitz has been for 25 years the owner and artistic Director of the Salzburger Schlosskonzerte with about 250 concerts per year at the most beautiful concert hall in Salzburg, at the Marble Hall in Castle Mirabell. Lately, in 2008, Luz Leskowitz founded in Russia the competition and Festival “Yuzhnouralsk-Salzburg”, the Festivals “Ufa-Salzburg” and “Chelyabinsk-Salzburg”.
Luz Leskowitz was invited to the jury of the first Brahms-Competition in Hamburg. In 2010 he was invited to the jury of the “International David Oistrakh Competition”. In addition, Luz started in Tokyo the “Intern. Salzburg-Mozart Chamber Music Competition” where he is the president of the jury. The “Festival Shiogama-Salzburg”. In May 2016 first Salzburger Schlosskonzert in Kyoto and in Obihiro.
Luz Leskowitz is giving masterclasses, especially on classic and romantic chamber music repertoire, in Japan, Korea and Russia.
Luz took part in the Film “The Piano player” by Elfriede Jelinek. Luz Leskowitz, Count of Zapolya, got from the Russian Government the “Lomonossov-Medaille” for cultural engagement in and outside Russia and from the President of the Republic of Austria the title “Professor” for cultural engagement worldwide. Luz Leskowitz is playing on the Stradivari Violin “Ex Prihoda” from 1707.
