The Ensemble Elsa was originally a duo, founded 2015 by the French cellist Marie Viard and the Tatar pianist Liliia Khusnullina whilst studying with Prof. Eric le Sage and Prof. Jean-Guihen Queyras at the music college in Freiburg i.Br., Germany.
The duo successfully participated in many competitions, winning several first prizes e.g. at the European Chamber Music Prize FNAPEC in Paris, the Chamber Music Competition at the Academy Virtuoso & Belcanto in Lucca, the 1st international chamber music competition AEMC in Montecassiano, and have also received the Donation Dany Pouchucq Prize at the Académie Ravel in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
In 2018, one of their live recording was broadcasted by french radio France Musique.
In 2023, the duo invited the spanish clarinetist and occasionnaly chamber music partner Lorenzo Salvá Peralta to officially join the ensemble. This allows for interpretation of both duo and trio pieces during a same concert, and enlarges even more the repertoire.
The Ensemble chose its name in memory of the french-russian writer and resistent Elsa Triolet, whom Louis Aragon dedicated one of the most beautiful poems of the french literature, named: "Elsa's eyes".
Liliia Khusnullina was born on 6th March 1990 in Tatarstan, Russia. She had first piano lessons with Irina Sergeeva at her local music school. During this time she showed promising talent in becoming an excellent musician one day. From 2005-2009 she attended a high school specialising in music where she was taught by Alfiya Schigapova.
Liliia graduated in 2014 from the sate conservatoire of Kasan where she had studied with Prof. Elfiya Burnaschewa. She has since been a student of Prof. Eric le Sage's at the music college in Freiburg, Germany.
Liliia has won many prizes in numerous competitions: International Piano Competition Citta di Pesaro (Italy), International Methodology and Presentation Competition for Pianists Karajew (Azerbaijan), winner of the competition for supporting young Talents in Russia, Scriabin International Piano Competition (France), and she was also a semi-finalist at the Robert Schumann Competition 2016 (Germany).
Apart from that she has also received scholarships from the Adelhausenstiftung Freiburg i. Br., the Rosenberg foundation and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).
Liliia took various masterclasses with many renowned musicians such as Rem Urasin, Alexsander Mndojanz, Evan Rotschtein, Dirk Mommertz, Konstantin Heidrich and Denis Pascal.
She has taken part in various music festival, e.g. at the International Music Festival Dvoryanskoe Gnesdo at the State Museum Archangelskoe (Russia), the International Chamber Music Festival ECMA (European Music Association in Finland), the Neckar Music Festival in Heidelberg (Germany) and the international chamber music festival in Salon-de-Provence (France).
Liliia regularly plays solo and chamber music recitals in various cities around. She works also as a piano accompanist at the music college of Freiburg and as a teacher at the Jazz Rock music school in the same city.
Marie Viard started learning the cello at the music school of Guebwiller (Elsass) when she was seven years old. She then studied with Urmas Tammick in Colmar and Paul-Antoine de Rocca-Serra in Bastia before switching to the conservatoire of music in Nice. There she studied with Frédéric Audibert and Guillermo Lefever and finished with the highest marks.
From 2012-2016 Marie studied with Prof. Christoph Henkel at the music college in Freiburg, Germany and then switched to study with Prof. Jean-Guihen Queyras. She has also done masterclasses with Gary Hoffmann, Jens-Peter Maintz and Peter Wispelwey.
From 2010-2012 she played in numerous European youth orchestras under the baton of Kwamé Ryan, Denis Russell Davies and Andrej Boreyko. She has also done some extra-work as prinicipal cello with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice and the Mannheimer Philharmoniker and as co-principal with the Chamber Orchestra of Basel, the Mulhouse Symphonic Orchestra and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées. Since September 2018 she works in the cello section of the Orchestre Philharmonique of Strasbourg.
2022 she hold the position of principal cello of the Orchestre National de Cannes.
She has played the main concertos for her instrument with the Student Orchestra of Freiburg and the Chamber Orchestra Landwasser. In 2022, she created the concerto "Des Anges et des Dieux" of Jacques Lenot accompanied by the Orchestre National de Cannes at the Messiaen festival, and interpreted the concerto "Violation" of Dieter Ammann accompanied by the ensemble Holst Sinfonietta of Freiburg. In 2024 she played the cello concerto in C major of Haydn accompanied by the Accordi Musicali Ensemble in Chieti, Italien.
As a chamber musician she has played at many festivals: Janine Jansen in Utrecht, Cello Biennale in Amsterdam and at Pierre Loti in Poitou-Charentes, Sully-sur-Loire, Salon-de-Provence... She is also a member of the Osmose Ensemble.
Marie won the Carl-Seemann-Prize in 2012 and is supported by the Women's Scholarship in Music and Live Music Now Freiburg. In 2015 she was awarded the first prize, Prix spécial, at the international competition Leopold Bellan in Paris. At the international cello competition Edmont Baert in Brussels Marie won both the first prize and the prize for the best interpretation of the mandatory piece.
In 2024 she was awarded the 2nd prize at the international competition Accordi Musicali in Pescara, Italien.
Born in Madrid 1990, Lorenzo Salvá Peralta started his musical education at the School of Music "Padre Antonio Soler" of San Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid) with Jorge Gil.
From 2008 on, he studied further at the Conservatory of Music of Salamanca in the class of Carmelo Molina, where he recieved his Bachelor of Music in clarinet with “Summa cum Laude” as well as the Prize “Premio Especial Fin de Carrera” awarding his great achievement during his studies.
He began at the same time his orchestal education at the Joven Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid (JORCAM) and as an academist at the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCyL) and the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid (ORCAM).
Between 2012 and 2015 he persued his musical education in the class of Jörg Widmann and got his Master of Music with high honors at the Hochshule für Musik of Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany). During this time, he received the scholarship from the “Helene Rosenberg Foundation” and won the second prize of the "Carl Seemann" competition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. In 2018 he achieved a semester of improvement with Kilian Herold.
He has collaborated with orchestras such as the Sinfonieorchester Basel (SOB), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (OPS), the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse (OSM), the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo (OPMC), the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, the chamber orchestra “I TEMPI“ (Basel), the Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia (Madrid), the Orchestre Musique des Lumières (Swiss),...
He is a member of the Orchestre Symphonique de Bourgogne Franche-Comté "Victor Hugo" since 2023, and of the Collegium Musicum Basel since 2024.
Since 2017 he is member of the ensemble Holst Sinfonietta Freiburg which is specialized in 20th century music and combines numerous concerts in Germany as well as CD recordings. In December 2024 he will record as soloist the clarinet concerto of John Adams with this ensemble. Lorenzo is also member of the clarinet quartet Roots4clarinet.
Besides, Lorenzo combines his artistic career with teaching his discipline in Germany.
In 2023 he was awarded first prize in the international competition "Saverio Mercadante" (Noci, Italy).