Daniel Barenboim, KBE (born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings. Currently, he is general music director of La Scala in Milan, the Berlin State Opera, and the Staatskapelle Berlin; he previously served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de Paris.
Elisabeth Leonskaja (b. November 23, 1945) is a Georgian pianist, born to a Russian family living in Tbilisi, then the capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. She gave her first concert at the age of eleven. In 1964 she began studies in Moscow Conservatory under Jacob Milstein. During her conservatory years she won prizes in competitions in Bucharest, Brussels and Paris.
Christoph Eschenbach (born February 20, 1940 in Breslau, Germany (today Wrocław, Poland) is a noted pianist and conductor. Orphaned by World War II, he won numerous first-place piano competition prizes. In 1964 he made his first recording (of Mozart) for Deutsche Grammophon and signed a contract with the label. In 1981, Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and was chief conductor from 1982-86.