Elisabeth Leonskaja

A Russian pianist, born in Tbilisi. She took prizes at international competitions while she was still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, and her playing was shaped by her friendship and her work with Sviatoslav Richter. She left the Soviet Union in 1978 and settled in Vienna. She has recorded Ravel, Enescu, Debussy, Schubert, Schumann, Mozart and Beethoven, and she holds the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, Georgia's highest artistic honour, and the ICMA lifetime achievement award of 2020.