Leonard Elschenbroich

Which people would you invite as guests to your dream dinner party?

Bob Dylan, Damien Hirst, Jake&Amir.

What is your favorite meal?

Almost any type of pasta.

Do you have a favorite motto or proverb that you live your life by?

Learn and teach, I guess?

Which person or people inspire you the most?

Artists who see things with "new eyes" and can make me see from their point of view.

If you were 80 years old, what advice would you give to young people today?

Try to be in the present or in the past in your thoughts. Don't worry about the future too much.

What would you like people to say about you?

That I do more good than harm. That's a tall order!

How do you overcome the stage fright? / What is your ritual before going on stage?

It's important to remember that people come to hear music, not to judge the player. (It's hard to do think that in a competition, I know!)

When you perform... who are you playing for?

Sometimes my girlfriend, sometimes my grandmother.

What's the "most played" non-classical track on your phone?

Drake: 6 Man.

You are on a desert island and can bring only 3 items, what do you bring?

My cello, my girlfriend, her violin.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Miami?

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word Tchaikovsky?

Borodin Quartet recordings / Mravinsky’s eyes and right hand / Lensky.

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word competition?

Student gossip? These days I think: "I need to practice."