In 2022 Jonathan was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust and Concert Artists Guild joint International Auditions held at Wigmore Hall. That same year he was also nominated as a 2022 Classic FM ‘Rising Star’.

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He went on to receive the prestigious Arthur Waser Foundation and Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Award, and is also a top prize winner at major competitions in Israel and Europe, including First Prize at the prestigious Crusell Competition in Finland and a Special Prize at the Carl Nielsen Competition in Denmark.

Jonathan’s debut album ‘Eastern Reflections’ was released in August 2024 on Delphian Records, recorded alongside violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux and pianist Joseph Havlat.

In 2024 Jonathan was announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Artist, and with their support is, among other things, developing a project exploring an immersive and multi-sensory interpretation of Pierre Boulez's piece ‘Dialogue de l'ombre double’. 

He has given recitals across Israel and Europe, including most recently at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall. 

An avid chamber musician Jonathan founded the Avir Wind Quintet, and has collaborated with the ‘Mietar Ensemble’, Israeli Contemporary Players and Quatuor Agate among others, including performances at prestigious festivals including Verbier Festival, Brandenburgische Sommerkonzerte, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Crusell, Rauna and Hauho Festivals in Finland.  He has also appeared at Kiel Musikfreunde and for Südwestrundfunk in Bruchsaa. Further afield Jonathan also attended the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival in Australia and undertook a tour of Colombia. 

Highlights of Jonathan’s 2024/25 season include his debut with the Munich Symphony, and performances at the Münster Neue Namen Series and with the Kaleidoscope Ensemble in the UK. 

In February 2025 Jonathan will also join a stellar ensemble of YCAT artists past and present for a European Tour celebrating the charity’s 40th anniversary, performing at some of Europe’s most prestigious halls including the BoulezSaal Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Cologne, Tauberphilharmonie Weikersheim and Wigmore Hall. 

In recent seasons Jonathan has performed in concerto with  the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Košice, London Mozart Players and Jyväskylä Sinfonia. He has also previously appeared as soloist with the Ostrobothnian Chamber, Lapland Chamber and Kuopio Symphony Orchestras working with conductors including Elena Schwarz, Adrien Perruchon and Tung-Chieh Chuang. 

He made his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 18 performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and in his homeland has also performed with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta and Haifa Symphonic Orchestra. Jonathan has also performed with Israel Philharmonic as an orchestra member, as well as appearing as guest with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra and Jerusalem Camerata.

Born in Tel-Aviv in 1997, Jonathan’s musical education began with Eva Wasserman. He went on to study with Yevgeny Yehudin at the Buchmann Mehta School of Music where he won numerous awards including 1st Prize laureate of the Aviv Competition of the AICF (2020) and the Israeli Wind Competition (2016 & 2018). In 2022 Jonathan completed his Masters at the Music Academy in Basel with François Benda, and is currently staying on in Basel to complete a 'Master soloist' degree.

Jonathan is also extremely grateful to Andrea König for her support during his time with YCAT.  

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Press reviews

"Leibovitz is a passionate communicator, mastering these showy, virtuosic variations with ease and fluency. He slipped easily from being centre-stage as an expressive soloist, to blending with the ensemble showing a new warm and sensitive tone, allowing solo violin melodies in particular to glow and project."

Classic Melbourne / Bendigo Chamber Music Festival / February 2023

"Bringing plenty of colour and agility to Spohr’s Fantasia and Variations on a Theme of Danzi, Leibovitz effortlessly negotiated its extremes of range, while riding its waves of tender lyricism and high romantic drama."

The Age Melbourne /  Bendigo Chamber Music Festival / February 2023

"From the very first note, there is a great artist on stage. He plays for the orchestra, not the other way around… It is one of those moments when the music plays itself, thanks in no small part to the way the soloist interacts with the orchestra….it is not only the technique that impresses. Everything sounds smooth and played with care, as it only sounds when a musician has really made a piece his own."

Luzerner Zeitung / KKL Lucerne Symphony Orchestra: Copland Concerto / November 2022

Contact

To book Jonathan please contact

Etta Dainty – Senior Artist Manager [email protected]

Adam Maxey - Assistant Artist Manager [email protected]

0207 379 8477

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Photos © Kaupo Kikkas