Leonkoro, in Esperanto: Lionheart, alludes not coincidentally to Astrid Lindgren’s children’s book about two brothers. The story juxtaposes the grave reality of death with a large and heartfelt yearning for comfort – a meaning that is made subject throughout the quartet‘s music.
In March 2022, the ensemble was honored with the coveted and highly endowed Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize.
In April 2022, the four musicians won 1st prize at the International String Quartet Competition at Wigmore Hall London and were also awarded a total of 9 special prizes.
In May 2022, the ensemble was awarded with the 1st prize at Quatuor à Bordeaux Competition. They were able to convince not only the top-class jury, but also the audience who awarded them the Audience Prize as well as the Young Audience Prize. At the end of the month, they were appointed to the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists program, of which the quartet will be a part from 2022 – 2024.
This was followed by the MERITO String Quartet Award in November 2022. Unlike a classical competition, the five selected ensembles do not know that they will be evaluated by a jury made up of renowned string quartet musicians over the course of a year and will demonstrate their artistic level in concerts. The MERITO String Instrument Trust will support the ensemble for four years with among other things, a composition commission.
In the summer of 2021, the Leonkoro Quartet got off to a brilliant start on the international stage when it became the youngest formation to be awarded 2nd prize (the 1st prize was not awarded) and the coveted Audience Prize at the international string quartet competition Premio Paolo Borciani.
In addition to studying chamber music with Heime Müller at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, the quartet has been studying with Günter Pichler (Primarius Alban Berg Quartett) at the Chamber Music Institute of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía Madrid since 2020 with the generous support of Santander Consumer Bank AG.
The Leonkoro Quartet is fostered intensively by members of the Artemis Quartett at the Berlin University of the Arts. The four musicians received further artistic impulses from Alfred Brendel, Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartett), Reinhard Göbel, Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartett), Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartett), and Mathieu Herzog (Quatuor Ébène).
The Leonkoro Quartet is a Pirastro Artist.
