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 for the 2023-24 season include a premiere of a Violin Sonata written for Gil Shaham and Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival. In May, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choir will premiere Leshnoff’s new hour-long oratorio, The Sacrifice of Isaac. Joyce Yang performed Leshnoff’s Piano Concerto twice this season, once with the Alabama Symphony under the baton of Carlos Izcaray and then with the Knoxville Symphony under the baton of Aram Demirjian.
On his website, Leshnoff shares the following program note about the Piano Concerto:
The concerto is cast in four movements. The prominent, stately principal theme appears shortly after the concerto's opening; this theme is then developed through rapid and energetic conversations between the piano and orchestra. The second movement is slow and contemplative, bringing out the soft nuances of the piano. Climaxing with an iteration of the principal theme, the movement then sinks back to it meditative stance before ending mysteriously. A humorous, brief scherzo precedes the final movement, which is kinetic and propulsive. The concerto ends with a triumphant restatement of the main theme, but this time, in full confidence and grandeur.
Leshnoff finds Jewish mysticism and spirituality to be an inexhaustible inspiration for his music. This piano concerto is inspired by the ancient Jewish mystical tradition that everything in the universe has a soul, from human, animal, plant to inanimate objects. This tradition teaches that the soul is taught to have five parts. The second movement of this concerto is the composer’s impression of the 3rd level of the soul, “Neshama,” Hebrew for “breathing soul” and associated with the Hebrew letter “hey”: It is this part of the soul that expresses itself in thoughts and ideas and is housed in the brain. The second movement of the concerto is Leshnoff’s musical painting of the Neshama. He explains: “On paper, this movement is written with very simple rhythms and melodies. It is up to the artist to connect her mind and essence with the music that will bring these simple structures it to full, breathing life. The movement is purposely slow and meditative, which brings the soloist and audience to internal contemplation without the ‘distraction’ of virtuosity. It is this internal contemplation which is the essence of the Neshama.”