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Leonard Elschenbroich, cello with Alexei Grynyuk, piano

Photo Credit: Left by Felix Broede, Right by Luke Nugen

“a musician of great technical prowess, intellectual curiosity and expressive depth”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In this exciting original program, long-time collaborators cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk perform three lyrical duets for string instruments and piano. Though none were originally composed for the cello, these masterful arrangements are unforgettable. Each offers a nuanced musical dialogue, with themes shared between the two voices in an equal partnership.

Clara Schumann’s Three Romances are intimate lyric miniatures, shifting between light and shade, charm and passion. Beethoven’s fifth and final cello sonata were featured in these musicians’ critically-acclaimed 2019 album. ‘In Elschenbroich and Grynyuk’s hands, these sonatas’ staggering invention is impossible to ignore,’ wrote Gramophone. Brahms’s final work for cello and piano opens with a dazzling confrontation between the two instruments, giving each musician rich opportunities for expressive interplay. Written more than 20 years after his first cello sonata, this is a work of a mature master of his craft.

This event replaces a previously-announced performance by Castalian String Quartet, who announced their disbandment in June 2025.

Program

Clara Schumann: Three Romances
Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in D, Op. 102, No. 2 
Brahms: Sonata in F Major, Op. 99

About Leonard Elschenbroich

Described by The New York Times as “a musician of great technical prowess, intellectual curiosity and expressive depth”, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich has performed as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras.

He gave his Vienna Musikverein debut on a European Tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden, his US debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, his Asian debut at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and appeared five times at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms.

A committed performer of contemporary music, Elschenbroich has commissioned several new works from composers including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Luca Lombardi, Arlene Sierra and Suzanne Farrin. He gave the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s first Cello Concerto – written for him – with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall, and Brian Elias’ first Cello Concerto at the BBC Proms.

In 2012 he co-founded the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bolivia, the first orchestra to perform a Mahler Symphony in the nation’s history. Elschenbroich returns to Bolivia on a regular basis to lead educational projects and develop the orchestra. This commitment led Elschenbroich to explore the field of conducting with various orchestras across Latin America and the UK. He gave his London conducting debut, leading The Telegraph to write “Elschenbroich gave a performance of Brahms’ 1st Symphony that at times touched the heights.”

Elschenbroich has worked with a number of eminent conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Mark Elder, Charles Dutoit, Manfred Honeck, Kirill Karabits, Dmitri Kitajenko, Andrew Litton, Juanjo Mena, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Vasily Sinasiky, and Edo De Waart. As soloist he has performed with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Phiharmonic, Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Swedish Radio Symphony, Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Pacific Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Elschenbroich’s first three albums for Onyx Classics focused on 20th century Russian repertoire, from Rachmaninov to Schnittke. 2016 saw the release of “Siécle”, a portrait of a century of French music from Saint-Saëns to Dutilleux, recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony. They have received 5-star reviews from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Financial Times, as well as receiving Editor’s Choice in Gramophone. This year, after a decade worldwide performances together with Alexei Grynyuk, Onyx Classics released their recording of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas. The album received wide critical acclaim, including Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, Album of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, and is also available on vinyl.

His many awards include the Leonard Bernstein Award, Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk and Borletti Buitoni Trust Award. In 2012 he was named BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, he was Artist-in-Residence of Deutschlandfunk for the 2014-15 season, and Artist-in-Residence at the Philharmonic Society Bremen from 2013-2016.
Born in 1985 in Frankfurt, Elschenbroich received a scholarship, aged ten, to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London. He later studied with Frans Helmerson at the Cologne Music Academy.

He plays a cello made by Matteo Goffriller “Ex-Leonard Rose-Ex-Alfredo Piatti’ (Venice, 1693), on private loan.

Artist Website | Instagram

About Alexei Grynyuk

British-Ukrainian pianist Alexei Grynyuk performs throughout the world appearing in the most prestigious concert halls and music festivals. He has performed recitals at the Verbier Music Festival in SwitzerlandNewport Music Festival in USADuszniki Chopin Festival in PolandInternational Keyboard Festival in New York among many others. The venues include Wigmore Hall and the South Bank Centre in LondonSalle Cortot and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Alexei has displayed tremendous interest in music from early childhood and started performing at the age of six. At thirteen he attracted wide attention by winning First prize at the Dyagilev All-Soviet-Union piano competition. He went on to win many prizes, notably first prizes at the Horowitz International Piano Competition in Kyiv, Shanghai International Piano Competition in China.

Alexei’s musical development was shaped by his studies at the Kyiv Conservatoire under Natalia Gridneva and Valery Kozlov. He refined his studies with Hamish Milne at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Later he was awarded Associate of the Royal Academy of Music
(ARAM) and served as a jury member at the Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition London and the prestigious “Vendome Prize” International Piano Competition.

Being a passionate chamber musician, Alexei Grynyuk is part of a piano trio with his regular partners violinist Nicola Benedetti and cellist Leonard Elschenbroich. Described by The Telegraph as “A trio of True Stars” together they have toured the world extensively in the past decade performing at the Royal Albert Hall LondonBirmingham Symphony Hall, LSO St. Luke’sFrankfurt Alte Oper92Y New YorkGardner Museum Boston as well as festival appearances at BBC PromsRavinia,  IstanbulCheltenham and Edinburgh International.

When
  • Sun, Nov 2, 2025 at 7:00pm
Estimated Run Time
Where

Baldwin Auditorium
1336 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27705

Venue Details
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