15.11.2025
Leonid Desyatnikov — 70
Special concert at Jazz-Hall Hamburg
An exceptional anniversary celebration of Leonid Desyatnikov’s music, presenting masterpieces from across the decades.
Free entry.
Come early to get your seat
Free entry.
Come early to get your seat
Songs of Bukovina — 24 Preludes for Piano (2017; rev. 2022) Lukas Geniušas, piano.
Return — for oboe, clarinet, two violins, viola, cello and tape (2007)
Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg.
Yiddish — Five Songs for Voice and String Quartet (2018).
Stella Motina, soprano.
Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg.
Trompe-l’œil — for piano four hands (2023)
GrauSchumacher Piano Duo
Return — for oboe, clarinet, two violins, viola, cello and tape (2007)
Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg.
Yiddish — Five Songs for Voice and String Quartet (2018).
Stella Motina, soprano.
Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg.
Trompe-l’œil — for piano four hands (2023)
GrauSchumacher Piano Duo
The composer
I am a Russian-speaking Ukrainian Jew, born in Ukraine, where I spent the first seventeen years of my life. After nearly five decades in St. Petersburg, I now live in Israel, devoted to the calm rituals of retirement, reflecting on my elusive, ever-shimmering national identity
Leonid Desyatnikov
Leonid Desyatnikov
Born in Kharkiv in 1955, graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in composition under Boris Arapov and orchestration under Boris Tishchenko. In 2009–2010 he served as Music Director of the Bolshoi Theatre.
Among his most important works are the opera Poor Liza (1976), the cantata The Gift (1981), the vocal cycle Love and the Life of a Poet (1989), The Lead Echo (1990) for voices and instruments, Sketches to a Sunset (1992), the symphony The Sacred Winter of 1949 (1998), Songs of Soviet Composers and Other Fragments of Music for the Film Moscow (2000), Russian Seasons for violin, female voice, and string orchestra (2000), the opera The Children of Rosenthal (2004), the ballet Lost Illusions (2011), and the piano cycle Songs of Bukovina (2017).
Since the mid-1990s he has actively collaborated with Gidon Kremer as a composer and as an arranger of works by Astor Piazzolla. He also maintains a close creative partnership with choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who has staged six ballets to Desyatnikov’s music.
He is also the author of theatre music for various productions as well as film scores for Sunset (1990), Hammer and Sickle (1994), Moscow Nights (1994), Giselle’s Mania (1995), His Wife’s Diary (2000), Moscow (2000), Target (2011), and others.
Since 2022, he has been living in Israel.
Born in Kharkiv in 1955, graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in composition under Boris Arapov and orchestration under Boris Tishchenko. In 2009–2010 he served as Music Director of the Bolshoi Theatre.
Among his most important works are the opera Poor Liza (1976), the cantata The Gift (1981), the vocal cycle Love and the Life of a Poet (1989), The Lead Echo (1990) for voices and instruments, Sketches to a Sunset (1992), the symphony The Sacred Winter of 1949 (1998), Songs of Soviet Composers and Other Fragments of Music for the Film Moscow (2000), Russian Seasons for violin, female voice, and string orchestra (2000), the opera The Children of Rosenthal (2004), the ballet Lost Illusions (2011), and the piano cycle Songs of Bukovina (2017).
Since the mid-1990s he has actively collaborated with Gidon Kremer as a composer and as an arranger of works by Astor Piazzolla. He also maintains a close creative partnership with choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who has staged six ballets to Desyatnikov’s music.
He is also the author of theatre music for various productions as well as film scores for Sunset (1990), Hammer and Sickle (1994), Moscow Nights (1994), Giselle’s Mania (1995), His Wife’s Diary (2000), Moscow (2000), Target (2011), and others.
Since 2022, he has been living in Israel.
The Artists
Lukas Geniušas
Born in Moscow in 1990 into a family of musicians, pianist Lukas Geniušas began his studies at the age of five under the guidance of his grandmother, the renowned pedagogue Vera Gornostaeva. His exceptional artistry soon gained international recognition with top prizes at leading competitions, including the Gina Bachauer Competition, the German Piano Award, the Silver Medal at the 2010 Chopin International Competition, and most notably the Silver Medal at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015.
Today, Geniušas performs worldwide with major orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, Hamburg Symphony, and Kremerata Baltica, appearing at Wigmore Hall, the Louvre Auditorium, and leading festivals across Europe and the Americas. Celebrated for both his mastery of the classical canon and his commitment to contemporary music, his acclaimed discography ranges from Chopin and Rachmaninov to works by Leonid Desyatnikov and other living composers.
Born in Moscow in 1990 into a family of musicians, pianist Lukas Geniušas began his studies at the age of five under the guidance of his grandmother, the renowned pedagogue Vera Gornostaeva. His exceptional artistry soon gained international recognition with top prizes at leading competitions, including the Gina Bachauer Competition, the German Piano Award, the Silver Medal at the 2010 Chopin International Competition, and most notably the Silver Medal at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015.
Today, Geniušas performs worldwide with major orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, Hamburg Symphony, and Kremerata Baltica, appearing at Wigmore Hall, the Louvre Auditorium, and leading festivals across Europe and the Americas. Celebrated for both his mastery of the classical canon and his commitment to contemporary music, his acclaimed discography ranges from Chopin and Rachmaninov to works by Leonid Desyatnikov and other living composers.
GrauSchumacher Piano Duo
Andreas Grau and Götz Schumacher have established themselves among the world’s leading piano duos. Known for their artistic freedom and imaginative programming, they bring a unique energy to both classical and contemporary repertoire. Recent highlights include their residency with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto at Casa da Música in 2022, where they performed concertos by Bach, Mendelssohn, Poulenc, and Wolfgang Rihm with conductors such as Michael Sanderling and Sylvain Cambreling. They continue to appear at leading venues and festivals including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Ruhr Piano Festival, Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele, and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
The duo is renowned for expanding the repertoire for two pianos and orchestra, commissioning works from Peter Eötvös, Philippe Manoury, Luca Francesconi, and Isabel Mundry, while also championing new recital works by composers such as Brigitta Muntendorf and Johannes Maria Staud. Collaborating with conductors including Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Michael Gielen, they have performed with major orchestras across Europe and beyond. Alongside their concert career, Grau and Schumacher pursue interdisciplinary projects with actors such as Ulrich Noethen and Klaus Maria Brandauer, and their acclaimed recordings on NEOS—crowned with multiple German Record Critics’ Awards—testify to their wide-ranging artistry and lasting contribution to the piano duo tradition.
Andreas Grau and Götz Schumacher have established themselves among the world’s leading piano duos. Known for their artistic freedom and imaginative programming, they bring a unique energy to both classical and contemporary repertoire. Recent highlights include their residency with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto at Casa da Música in 2022, where they performed concertos by Bach, Mendelssohn, Poulenc, and Wolfgang Rihm with conductors such as Michael Sanderling and Sylvain Cambreling. They continue to appear at leading venues and festivals including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Ruhr Piano Festival, Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele, and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
The duo is renowned for expanding the repertoire for two pianos and orchestra, commissioning works from Peter Eötvös, Philippe Manoury, Luca Francesconi, and Isabel Mundry, while also championing new recital works by composers such as Brigitta Muntendorf and Johannes Maria Staud. Collaborating with conductors including Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Michael Gielen, they have performed with major orchestras across Europe and beyond. Alongside their concert career, Grau and Schumacher pursue interdisciplinary projects with actors such as Ulrich Noethen and Klaus Maria Brandauer, and their acclaimed recordings on NEOS—crowned with multiple German Record Critics’ Awards—testify to their wide-ranging artistry and lasting contribution to the piano duo tradition.
Stella Motina
The opera and concert singer studied at the Gnessin Academy in Moscow before continuing her education at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media under Prof. Dr. Peter Anton Ling, where she graduated with distinction with a Master’s degree in opera singing. She has since given acclaimed performances at venues including the Hanover State Opera, Theater Bremen, Theater Kiel, Staatstheater Cottbus, Theater Luzern, Landestheater Linz, Landestheater Innsbruck, the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, and Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Since October 2020, Stella has been a lecturer in voice at the Young Music Academy Hamburg.
www.stella-motina.com
The opera and concert singer studied at the Gnessin Academy in Moscow before continuing her education at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media under Prof. Dr. Peter Anton Ling, where she graduated with distinction with a Master’s degree in opera singing. She has since given acclaimed performances at venues including the Hanover State Opera, Theater Bremen, Theater Kiel, Staatstheater Cottbus, Theater Luzern, Landestheater Linz, Landestheater Innsbruck, the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, and Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Since October 2020, Stella has been a lecturer in voice at the Young Music Academy Hamburg.
www.stella-motina.com
Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg
Founded in 2018, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg brings together musicians from around 15 nations. Continuing the tradition of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra established in 1934, the ensemble sends a powerful message against exclusion and antisemitism through its projects.
Highlights include the memorial concert November Pogroms on November 9, 2024, the concert on January 27, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with David Geringas, as well as performances on April 3–4, 2025 in the Elbphilharmonie’s Small Hall. On December 6, 2025, the orchestra will make its debut in the Grand Hall.
Founded in 2018, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg brings together musicians from around 15 nations. Continuing the tradition of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra established in 1934, the ensemble sends a powerful message against exclusion and antisemitism through its projects.
Highlights include the memorial concert November Pogroms on November 9, 2024, the concert on January 27, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with David Geringas, as well as performances on April 3–4, 2025 in the Elbphilharmonie’s Small Hall. On December 6, 2025, the orchestra will make its debut in the Grand Hall.
Address
Jazz-Hall Hamburg
Harvestehuder Weg 12
Harvestehuder Weg 12