Chamber Music Cincinnati: Leonkoro Quartet

Quick Summary
• With Germany’s Leonkoro, CMC subscribers will have heard the winners of both the leading North American and British string quartet competitions in less than six months. (The Isidore String Quartet is the other.)
• The Leonkoro won London’s International String Quartet Competition in 2022, the same year that the Isidore won Banff.
• The Guardian wrote earlier this month that “the Leonkoros are surely stars in the making.”
• Also this month, The New York Times says of their Berg Lyric Suite recording to be released on March 20: “The Leonkoro’s account is as compelling as any.”
• Bottom Line: In its Leonkoro cover story, The Strad describes them as “at the forefront of a new wave of brilliant young string quartets.”

Deeper Dive

In 2006, a Gramophone article was headlined, “the most exciting era ever for string quartets.” In February 2010, it said, “it is clear that some of the new generation of string quartets, who were only then beginning to emerge, have pulled ahead of their rivals.” With the rise of the Leonkoro and the Isidore, among others, any day Gramophone may repeat itself.

In 2023, just a year after Leonkoro won the Wigmore Hall International Hall String Quartet competition, it was already describing them as “at the forefront of a new wave of brilliant young string quartets.” In 2021, Leonkoro had already won second place at Italy’s Premio Borciani string quartet competition, Europe’s foremost. (No first prize was awarded that year.)

Since then, the Leonkoro, led by violinist Jonathan Schwarz and his cellist brother, Lukas, has performed at major concert halls, including Vienna’s Konzerthaus, home to the Vienna Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress. Their first recording was released in fall 2023. Their second was released in Europe in January and will be available for purchase in the U.S. in April. By the time they appear here in April 2026, who can say?

CMC Subscriptions: Chamber Music’s Greatest Value

• Our “Early Bird” subscriptions for these six concerts are on sale today on our web site and through the Memorial Hall box office. Only you who are receiving this email know about it, giving you first choice of open seats.
• All available seats will be opened to the general public for subscription purchases on Tuesday, February 24.
• Currents subscribers’ seats will be held until June 1, then released to the general public. The six concert price ― $120 in the Orchestra or Balcony ― is one of the nation’s great chamber music bargains. It’s up to 50% off the single ticket price helping to make our concerts more affordable to everyone.

Please remember this affordability pricing in your giving. Only if you do can we maintain pricing at this level.

We hope you are as excited about next season as we are. This may well be our strongest season ever, so we expect subscriptions to sell fast. Single tickets for remaining seats will go on sale June 1.