Leonkoro Quartett

The Leonkoro Quartet was founded in 2019 in Berlin and is already one of the most sought-after ensembles of the younger generation. The name comes from Esperanto and means ‘lionheart’; this is also an allusion to Astrid Lindgren’s children’s book of the same name, which is about two brothers, like the quartet’s two founders Jonathan and Lukas Schwarz, on first violin and cello. They are complemented by the ‘middle voices’ of Amelie Wallner [in today‘s concert: Jona Schibilsky] on second violin and Mayu Konoe on viola.

In the 2024/25 season, the Leonkoro Quartet made its debuts at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Liederhalle Stuttgart, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Bozar in Brussels and the Konzerthaus Dortmund, and undertook its first tour to North America and Canada, where it performed in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Montreal.

In 2023/24 the ensemble celebrated acclaimed debuts at great concert halls and international festivals including the Berlin and Cologne Philharmonies, Flagey in Brussels, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Rheingau Music Festival, the String Quartet Biennale in Paris, the Heidelberg Spring Festival and the Salzburg Festival. The quartet also continued its residency in Leeds.

In 2022 the Leonkoro Quartet received a series of prestigious awards and prizes such as the Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize, first prize and nine special prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and several prizes at the Concours International de Quatuor à Cordes de Bordeaux. In addition, the quartet was selected to participate for two years in the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Programme and was awarded the MERITO String Quartet Award. The round of awards has continued with the Young Talent Award of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Most recently the quartet won the ensemble prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

In autumn 2023 the four string players released their first album with Mirare, featuring works by Ravel and Schumann; within a few weeks it was awarded the Choc de l’année. In spring 2024 the quartet began a long-term recording partnership with the record label Alpha Classics.

Alongside chamber music studies with Heime Müller (of the Artemis Quartet) at the Lübeck Academy of Music, the quartet has studied since 2020 with Günter Pichler (the leader of the Alban Berg Quartet) at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. The ensemble’s other prestigious mentors include(d) Eckart Runge and Gregor Sigl (Artemis Quartet), and the pianist Alfred Brendel (?), with whom the Leonkoro Quartet regularly collaborated.

Jonathan Schwarz plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Lukas Schwarz a cello by Carlo Tononi, from Venice (c.1720); both instruments are generously provided by Beare’s International Violin Society.

Amelie Wallner plays a violin by Vincenzo Postiglione and Mayu Konoe plays a viola by Lorenzo Storioni; both instruments are generously made available to them by private donors.

The Leonkoro Quartet is a Pirastro Artist and a Henle App Ambassador.