When our Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Eivind Aadland describes a young violinist as ‘one of the most gifted artists I’ve met’, we know it’s time to pay attention.
Teenage Austrian violinist and Eurovision star Leonhard Baumgartner will make his Australian debut with the TSO in Federation Concert Hall this November.
It comes two years after Leonhard won Eurovision’s prestigious Young Musicians Competition, delivering a performance that left Eivind certain he was witnessing the beginning of an extraordinary career.
‘I met Leonhard Baumgartner almost two years ago when he was 17 and he's just one of the most gifted young musicians and artists I've met,’ Eivind says.
‘You will see his name over the years to come. He is excellent.’
The Eurovision competition is judged by an international jury and televised across Europe, featuring national champion soloists on various instruments, representing their country.
In 2024, Eivind was the orchestral conductor for the final performances held in Bodø, Norway.
Every one of the 11 finalists was excellent, but Leonhard stood out, he says.
‘He is a beautiful musician, a terrific player, technically superb. But he has something more. He feels so like a mature musician,’ Eivind says.
‘You can expect extraordinary playing from him.’
Leonhard will travel to Australia for the first time to perform one of the violin repertoire’s greatest tests, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, with the TSO on Saturday 28 November.
The invitation to perform one of music’s most demanding violin concertos speaks to Aadland’s confidence in this young violinist.
‘Many people have come out of that Eurovision competition and gone on to big careers. I think he will have a wonderful career and we are the first in this part of the world to hear him.’
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