Leonkoro Quartet Receives Merito String Quartet Award

Totaling 50,000 Euros, the prize will include professional development support, recordings, and a composition commission

Comprised of violinists Jonathan SchwarzandAmelie Wallner, violist
Mayu Konoe, and cellist Lukas Schwarz, the Leonkoro Quartet was founded in Berlin in 2019.

After winning first prize at the Quatuor à Bordeaux competition and International String Quartet Competition of the Wigmore Hall London earlier this year, the group has recently been given the Merito String Quartet Award.

The prize was given by a jury consisting of former members of the Alban Berg Quartett, Arditti Quartet, Artemis Quartet, Quatuor Ébène, and Hagen Quartett.

Renewed every four years, the Merito String Quartet Award is for those who have dedicated themselves to quartet playing that are younger than 35 years old.

The award includes prize money of 20,000€, a budget of 30,000€ for sound recordings and a composition commission, and professional support over the next four years.

"It was impressive how clearly the decision fell on the Leonkoro Quartet“, the adjudicators said.

"Moreover, the human warmth and charisma of these four young people was also a deciding factor," jury chairman Valentin Erben said. "It was never about showing off, but rather about genuine, musical affair of the heart. One can feel how passionate they are about string quartet playing."

The Leonkoro Quartet will participate in the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists program from 2022 - 2024. During the 2022/2023 season, the Leonkoro Quartet will also perform at venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, CAPE Ettelbruck, Alte Oper Frankfurt, the VIBRE Festival in Bordeaux, the String Quartet Festival in Heidelberg and the Dresden Music Festival.

As a Pirastro Artist, the ensemble will begin its three-year residency in Leeds and will play two concerts at Esterhazy Castle.