Jonathan Leshnoff

Jonathan Leshnoff (born September 8, 1973) is an American classical music composer and pedagogue.

Early life and education

Jonathan Leshnoff was born on September 8, 1973 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Susan Leshnoff, an artist, and Stephen Leshnoff, an engineer. He attended Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Conservatory concurrently, earning bachelor's degrees in anthropology and music. He went on to receive Master's of Music and Doctor of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Maryland, respectively.

Career

Jonathan Leshnoff is currently composing out of Baltimore, Maryland. His works have been performed and commissioned by over 70 orchestras worldwide, including commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, among many others. Leshnoff’s compositions have also been premiered by classical music’s most celebrated soloists, including Gil Shaham, Roberto Díaz, Johannes Moser, Manuel Barrueco, and Joyce Yang.

Notable commissions include his Clarinet Concerto, which the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales premiered with the orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin in April 2016; his Zohar oratorio, which Carnegie Hall and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra co-commissioned and presented with conductor Robert Spano in April 2016; his Violin Concerto No. 2, which the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster Alexander Kerr premiered on Maestro Jaap van Zweden’s final concerts as Music Director of the orchestra in May 2018; his Piano Concerto, which soloist Joyce Yang premiered with the Kansas City Symphony and Music Director Michael Stern in November 2019, and his major work Of The I Sing, which the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Music Director Alexander Mickelthwaite premiered in February 2020, commissioned to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

There are seven albums exclusively featuring Leshnoff’s music, including several discs on the Naxos American Classics label and a 2016 recording of two major Leshnoff works with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In May 2020, Reference Recordings released a disc featuring the world premiere performance of Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and conductor Manfred Honeck, which made it to the top of the classical Billboard charts.

While a large percentage of his work is orchestral, Leshnoff has composed for many small ensembles and concert bands. Band performances of Leshnoff's works include the United States Marine Band, which included a transcription of Leshnoff's Clarinet Concerto on its 2017 Arioso recording, the United States Navy Band, and several university wind ensembles. Leshnoff is a professor of music at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, where he has been teaching music theory and contemporary music history since 2003.[1]

Awards and recognition

In late 2019, the Nashville Symphony's album—released in May 2019— featuring his works, including his fourth symphony commissioned by the symphony in collaboration with the Violins of Hope, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Compendium. In an independent study, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra found Leshnoff to be among the top ten most performed living composers internationally (tied for 7th) among American orchestras in the 2015-16 season.

Selected works

Leshnoff's catalog includes four symphonies, fourteen concerti, and four oratorios.[2]

  • Symphony No. 1: Forgotten Chants and Refrains (2004)
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 (2005)
  • Double Concerto for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra (2007)
  • Rush (2008)
  • Starburst (2010)
  • Concerto for Two Percussionists and Orchestra (2011)
  • Hope: An Oratorio (2011)
  • Cello Concerto (2012)
  • Symphony No. 2: Innerspace (2014)
  • Zohar Oratorio (2015)
  • Chamber Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2015)
  • Symphony No. 3 (2015)
  • Clarinet Concerto (2015)
  • Symphony No. 4, "Heichalos" (2017)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 (2017)
  • Piano Concerto (2019)

Discography

To date, nine major recordings of Leshnoff's work have been released:[3]

References
  1. "Jonathan Leshnoff". Towson University. Retrieved Aug 5, 2019.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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