Leonid Gorokhov studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire with Anatoli Nikitin and took part in masterclasses with Daniil Shafran. Following early successes at the Concertino Praha International Competition for Young Performers and the All-Russia Cello Competition, he won First Prize in the 1986 Geneva Concours International d'Execution Musicale where he was also awarded the Grand Prix Patek Philippe and the Paul Strait Prize. A highlight of 1987 was the accolade of the Premier Grand Prix in the Paris Chamber Music Competition. In 1995 the European Association for Encouragement of the Arts and the Fondation des Prix Européens awarded Leonid Gorokhov the European Prize for Cultural Achievement, which 'recognises exceptional talent and outstanding artistic accomplishment'. Now a Professor at the Royal College of Music he was proud to be awarded British Citizenship in 1998.

In 1991 he appeared as soloist with the St Petersburg Philharmonic conducted by Lord Menuhin; their strong musical rapport led to further concerto engagements with the Bergen, Berlin & Royal Philharmonic, English Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and the Zurich Tonhalle. In 1995 Leonid Gorokhov made a triumphant return to Russia in performances of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Philharmonia Hungarica, again conducted by Lord Menuhin. He returns regularly to St Petersburg to play with the Conservatoire and State Capella Orchestras as well as the St Petersburg Philharmonic.

Leonid Gorokhov has been invited to appear at such prestigious festivals as Blackheath PianoWorks, Båstad, Budapest Spring, Corinthian Summer, Davos, Dreiklang, Evian, Gstaad, Harrogate, Interlaken, Kuhmo, Ljubljana, Macau, Perth (Scotland), Schleswig-Holstein and Spoleto. He has performed the Borodin Quintet with the Medici Quartet at the University of Surrey and in Geneva. Recent and forthcoming concerto engagements include performances with the Basel, BBC Scottish, Berlin Radio, Biel-Bienne and Norrkoping Symphony Orchestras; Prague Philharmonic, Promusica Salzburg, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Walton Cello Concerto with The Philharmonia.

His discography includes recordings of Boccherini, Debussy, Haydn, Kodaly, Martinu, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Tortelier for Melodiya. For Supraphon he has recorded concertos by Martinu and Saint-Saens with the Brno Philharmonic conducted by Lord Menuhin and an album of works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky. His recordings of "Russian Discoveries" for Olympia and "Virtuoso Cello Transcriptions" for Cello Classics contain some wonderful, but rarely performed, music.

In 1999 Leonid Gorokhov joined forces with his distinguished compatriot Nikolai Demidenko to form a cello & piano duo. Recent and forthcoming highlights include recitals in Blackheath & Dorking Halls, Max Joseph Saal der Residenz in Munich and Reading Town Hall; as well as the festivals of Ampthill, Belfast, Guildford, Petworth, Rye, West Cork and Les Moments Musicaux de Gstaad. Reviewing the Belfast Festival Recital in the Belfast Telegraph, Rathcol said "Demidenko's artistry is legendary and to say that the playing of his fellow Russian, Leonid Gorokhov, was stunning would be an understatement. His sumptuous tone and technically immaculate playing was a revelation…this was a recital to remember". Their second Wigmore Hall recital in June 2003 was the culmination of an outstandingly successful eight-concert UK tour. Leonid Gorokhov's first recording with Nikolai Demidenko is an all-Schubert album for the AGPL label, in association with Bayerische Rundfunk. The duo's next recording, which couples Schnitkke with the Rachmaninov & Shostakovich Sonatas, will be released in Autumn 2004 on Sanctuary Classics' ASV Gold Label.

Contact details and further information

E-mail Representative

Representation: Georgina Ivor Associates,
28 Old Devonshire Road
London SW12 9RB
UK

Telephone: + 44 (020) 8673 7179
Fax: + 44 (020) 8675 8058

For further details, see Georgina Ivor Associates

Georgina Ivor
Melanie Harding