LEONARDO HILSDORF piano
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Thursday 29 October 2026Doors: 6.30pm
Concert: 7.30pm (approx 70 mins, no interval) Tickets: £18 Adults £12 Concessions (10% discount when buying for more than one concert in the Poliphonia series at the same time) |
Poliphonia presents a richly textured piano journey that moves from Seixas’s poised Baroque elegance through Villa‑Lobos’s nocturnal lyricism, Miranda’s solitary waltz and Tia Amélia’s choro‑infused miniatures, into Siqueira’s crisp sonatinas, before closing with the smoky, impassioned nostalgia of Piazzolla’s Adiós Nonino.
Programme (70 min, no interval)Carlos Seixas
Sonata em lá menor (in A minor) Heitor Villa-Lobos Impressões Seresteiras Valsa da Dor Ronaldo Miranda Valsa só Tia Amélia Paulistano Cuíca no Choro Cochilos na Penumbra José Siqueira 3 Sonatinas (Nos. 5,7 and 9) Astor Piazzolla Adiós Nonino (arr. Laércio de Freitas) |
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Leonardo Hilsdorf |
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Recognised as one of the leading Brazilian pianists of his generation, Leonardo Hilsdorf has performed in Europe, the United States, and Latin America. Acclaimed by critics as "phenomenal" (Stuttgarter Nachrichten) and "charming and masterful" (L'Indépendant), he was a resident soloist for two years at the renowned Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, working intensively with Maria João Pires, his mentor to this day.
Leonardo has won major international competitions in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. Among his most significant awards are the Nadia et Lili Boulanger Prize in Paris, the first prize at the Special Prize of the European Union for Young Musicians Competitions in San Sebastián (2013), the Villa Lobos Prize at the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition (2014), and the Yamaha JJC International Competition in Mexico (2016), in addition to the first prize and the public and critics' awards at Pianale Akademia (2011).
In 2018 and 2021, he was the first laureate of the Verão Clássico festival in Portugal and also unanimously won the first prize at the Rome 'InMusica' International Piano Competition in 2020. In recent seasons, he has performed in prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Flagey and Bozar (Brussels), Maison de la Radio (Paris), Beethoven-Haus (Bonn), Sala São Paulo, and the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. As a soloist, he has collaborated with major orchestras such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Wallonie Orchestra, Yucatán Symphony Orchestra, and prominent Brazilian orchestras such as OSESP, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra.
Leonardo has a special interest in contemporary music, having premiered important works in Brazil, such as Edino Krieger's "Fantasia Concertante" with OSESP at Sala São Paulo in 2017, and Yoshimatsu's "Memo Flora" concerto in 2024. He is currently dedicated to recording the complete piano works of Edino Krieger, reinforcing his commitment to national repertoire.
He has a special passion for chamber music, particularly the Lied and trio repertoire, and is widely recognised for his musical versatility, fluent in various repertoires ranging from Baroque to contemporary.
Leonardo is also frequently invited to major international chamber music festivals and masterclasses, notably at the Ravinia Festival (USA), Emil Gilels Festival (Germany), Campos do Jordão Festival (Brazil), and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, where he worked with Joseph Kalichstein and François-Frédéric Guy. In 2016, he was named Young Talent of the Year by leading music critics in Brazil, an award granted by Revista Concerto.
He holds a degree in Music from the University of São Paulo, where he studied under Eduardo Monteiro. He obtained two Master's degrees in Piano Performance: from the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston), with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman, and from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, with Claudio Martínez Mehner. He also obtained a Concertist Diploma from the Ecole Normale A. Cortot in Paris by unanimous decision of the jury. Recently, he completed the prestigious Konzertexamen course at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and earned a PhD in Cultural Studies from the Catholic University of Lisbon.
Leonardo has won major international competitions in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. Among his most significant awards are the Nadia et Lili Boulanger Prize in Paris, the first prize at the Special Prize of the European Union for Young Musicians Competitions in San Sebastián (2013), the Villa Lobos Prize at the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition (2014), and the Yamaha JJC International Competition in Mexico (2016), in addition to the first prize and the public and critics' awards at Pianale Akademia (2011).
In 2018 and 2021, he was the first laureate of the Verão Clássico festival in Portugal and also unanimously won the first prize at the Rome 'InMusica' International Piano Competition in 2020. In recent seasons, he has performed in prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Flagey and Bozar (Brussels), Maison de la Radio (Paris), Beethoven-Haus (Bonn), Sala São Paulo, and the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. As a soloist, he has collaborated with major orchestras such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Wallonie Orchestra, Yucatán Symphony Orchestra, and prominent Brazilian orchestras such as OSESP, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra.
Leonardo has a special interest in contemporary music, having premiered important works in Brazil, such as Edino Krieger's "Fantasia Concertante" with OSESP at Sala São Paulo in 2017, and Yoshimatsu's "Memo Flora" concerto in 2024. He is currently dedicated to recording the complete piano works of Edino Krieger, reinforcing his commitment to national repertoire.
He has a special passion for chamber music, particularly the Lied and trio repertoire, and is widely recognised for his musical versatility, fluent in various repertoires ranging from Baroque to contemporary.
Leonardo is also frequently invited to major international chamber music festivals and masterclasses, notably at the Ravinia Festival (USA), Emil Gilels Festival (Germany), Campos do Jordão Festival (Brazil), and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, where he worked with Joseph Kalichstein and François-Frédéric Guy. In 2016, he was named Young Talent of the Year by leading music critics in Brazil, an award granted by Revista Concerto.
He holds a degree in Music from the University of São Paulo, where he studied under Eduardo Monteiro. He obtained two Master's degrees in Piano Performance: from the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston), with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman, and from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, with Claudio Martínez Mehner. He also obtained a Concertist Diploma from the Ecole Normale A. Cortot in Paris by unanimous decision of the jury. Recently, he completed the prestigious Konzertexamen course at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and earned a PhD in Cultural Studies from the Catholic University of Lisbon.
Poliphonia
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Poliphonia is a charity founded in 2017 with the purpose of promoting the music of the Americas.
Through concerts, recordings, score restoration and education, Poliphonia aims to unlock exciting and diverse repertoire of the Americas to wider audiences. www.poliphonia.co.uk |
Thursday
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Doors: 6.30pm
Concert: 7.30pm (approx 70 mins, no interval) Tickets: £18 Adults £12 Concessions (10% discount when buying for more than one concert in the Poliphonia series at the same time) |