Music as Universal Language - Leonard Elschenbroich’s Concert in Peru

Photo: Alvaro Arnaez

June 28th, Lima -at 8pm, spectators in the Auditorio Santa Úrsula got emotional thanks to the Sonatas 2 and 3 by Beethoven and Sonata Op.19 by Rachmaninov.

The protagonists of this magic night were two young musicians who have not much in common but their passion: Leonard Elschenbroich, cellist, is born in Frankfurt and lives in London, whereas Alexei Grynyuk– pianist and Elschenbroich’s regular partner, together with the Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti - is from Eastern Europe (Ukraine). 

Their life paths have been marked by the love for music since childhood, as they both started playing their instrument by the time they were 10. They both have won very prestigious prizes, such as the Leonard Bernstein Award (Elschenbroich) and the Vladimir Horowitz Award (Grynyuk).

In 2012, Elschenbroich was chosen from the BBC Radio 3 Orchestra as BBC New Generation Artist and was also named Mentor of the Bolivian Philharmonic Orchestra, the country's first national philharmonic orchestra. Since then he has been to Bolivia many times– often delighting Bolivians with his performances. The most recent of these took place on June 28th in the Auditorio Santa Ursula, sponsored by the German embassy in Bolivia.

Furthermore, other Latin American countries have had the chance to witness his talent, as he has travelled to Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo) and Uruguay (Montevideo) several times.

His commitment to Latin America doesn’t stop to concerts: he actively promotes concerts of famous foreign conductors and soloists who might have never been to Bolivia before, makes a contribution to the Bolivian Academic Orchestra for young musicians in the city of Cochabamba, organizes and supports educational projects not only in that country but also in Brazil and even in Europe.

Indeed, in 2010 he did two performances with the Brazilian Heliopolis Symphony Orchestra, which was formed by teenagers from the Heliopolis Favela in Sao Paulo. On that occasion Leonard held master classes and played a concert for 1000 school children.

In 2015 he started leading the Apollo Associate Artists program within the framework of the charity Apollo Music Projects, which introduces classical music to children in several boroughs of London. What Associate Artists do in this context is visiting schools and providing the young students with exclusive and memorable workshops.

Elschenbroich’s passion for music ranges from classical grandmasters to contemporary artists, who he often works with. His activity, which turns art into life, shows without rhetoric how music always binds humans in time and space.