Distinguished by The New York Times as “a leader of contemporary American lyricism,” GRAMMY-nominated composer Jonathan Leshnoff is renowned for his music's striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes. The Baltimore-based composer has been ranked among the most performed living composers in recent seasons with performances by over 100 orchestras. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh, among others. Leshnoff’s compositions have also been premiered by classical music’s most celebrated soloists, including Gil Shaham, Johannes Moser, Manuel Barrueco, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Joyce Yang.
Highlights in recent seasons include the premiere of a Violin Sonata written for Gil Shaham and Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s premiere of Leshnoff's new hour-long oratorio, The Sacrifice of Isaac. This oratorio has been co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony, who will commercially record and perform it in upcoming seasons. Joyce Yang continues to perform Leshnoff’s Piano Concerto, most recently with the Alabama Symphony, Knoxville Symphony and Tucson Symphony. Two new orchestral works are scheduled for premiere in 2024-25 with the Santa Rosa Symphony and ROCO. Leshnoff’s fifth oratorio, Saul, was premiered with the Harrisburg Symphony and a new duo for two violins and orchestra was premiered by the Fairfax Symphony under the baton of Alexander Zimmerman. His Double Concerto for Two Percussionists and Orchestra has performances with the Baylor University Symphony, under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and the University of Michigan School of Music Orchestra, under the baton of Kenneth Kiesler. Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 4 has been programed with both the National Repertory Orchestra, with JoAnn Falletta, and the Duluth Symphony, with Dirk Meyer. Leshnoff is currently working on his 5th and 6th symphony for major symphony orchestras for performance and commercial recordings, details to be announced shortly.
There are nine all-Leshnoff albums to date. Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 4, “Heichalos” with the Violins of Hope, recorded by the Nashville Symphony and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero and released by Naxos, was nominated for a 2021 GRAMMY for Best Classical Compendium. Last year, Naxos also released the world première recording of Leshnoff’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate. Also on that album was “Of Thee I Sing,” commissioned by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. In the fall of 2020, Reference Recordings released a highly acclaimed all-Leshnoff album featuring world premiere recordings of his Piano Concerto and his Symphony No. 3 commemorating World War I. Earlier in 2020, Reference Recordings released an extensively reviewed album by the Pittsburgh Symphony and conductor Manfred Honeck featuring the world premiere performance of Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, which made it to the top of the Billboard charts. Other notable releases include a 2016 recording of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performing Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 2 and Zohar oratorio, and three earlier all-Leshnoff albums—of both his orchestral and chamber music works—on the Naxos American Classics label. A album featuring all of his string quartets was also released in August 2020.
Celebrated by BBC Music Magazine as “enchanting” and by American Record Guide as “lyrical, virtuosic, tender, and passionate all at once,” Leshnoff’s music has been lauded by Strings Magazine as “distinct from anything else that’s out there” and by The Baltimore Sun as “remarkably assured, cohesively constructed and radiantly lyrical.” Leshnoff’s catalog is vast, including several symphonies, oratorios, concerti, and solo / chamber music works. Leshnoff is a Professor of Music at Towson University.
Updated July 2024. No edits can be made without permission from Jonathan Leshnoff or Leshnoff Publishing.
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