18 November 1895, died Morges

Morges

Morges is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges and is also the seat of the district.-History:...

, Switzerland 19 April 1981) was a Swiss musicologist

Musicology

Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

.

He studied with Egon Petri

Egon Petri

Egon Petri was a classical pianist.-Biography:Petri's family was Dutch and he was born a Dutch citizen, but he was born in Hanover in Germany and was brought up in Dresden. His father was a professional violinist who taught his son that instrument. Petri played in the Dresden Court Orchestra and...

 and Raoul Pugno

Raoul Pugno

Stéphane Raoul Pugno was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing of Mozart's works.Raoul Pugno was born in Paris. He made his debut at the age of six, and with the help of Prince Poniatowski he was then able to study at the École Niedermeyer. He then went to the...

. David Dubal

David Dubal

David Dubal is an American pianist, teacher, author, broadcaster and painter.Dubal has taught at the Juilliard School in New York since 1983 and the Manhattan School of Music since 1994. Mr. Dubal is the host of "The Piano Matters" a program of comparative piano performances that can be heard on ...

 describes him as an "unusual and powerful pianist" who made "grandly conceived" recordings of the late Beethoven sonatas and captured "the very essence of the Faustian Liszt

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

". His work as a musicologist and teacher brought him to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where he taught at colleges including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

, the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 and the New England Conservatory; he also became a United states citizen. In 1966 he retired from academia and returned to his native Switzerland where he spent the remainder of his life.

Levy's son is composer and cellist Frank Ezra Levy (born 1930).

Selected compositions

Orchestral

• Symphony No.2 in D major (1922)
• Symphony No.3 (1922)
• Symphony No.7 (1937)
• Symphony No.8 (1937)
• Symphony No.10 "France" (1944)
• Symphony No.11 (1949)
• Symphony No.12 (1951)
• Symphony No.13 (1955)
• Third Suite for orchestra (1957)
• Fourth Suite for orchestra (1959)
• Symphony No.14 (1962)
• Symphony No.15 (1968)

Concertante

• Concerto for cello and orchestra (1947)

Chamber music

• String Quartet No.1 (1919)
• Sonata No.1 for violin and piano (1932)
• Divertimento for clarinet (or oboe) and piano (1952)
• Theme and Transformations for clarinet and piano (1952)
• String Trio No.1 (1953)
• Sonata for cello and piano (1953)
• Sonata for horn and Piano (1953)
• Fifteen Little Pieces for cello solo (1955)
• Piano Quartet (1956)
• Suite for viola or cello solo (1956)
• Suite for violin solo (1960)
• String Trio No.2 (1960)
• Sonata No.2 for violin and piano (1961)
• Sonata No.3 for violin and piano (1963)
• Sonatina No.1 for violin and piano (1962)
• Sonatina No.2 for violin and piano (1962)
• Suite for 2 violas (1963)
• Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (1963)
• Sonata for three violin parts (1965)
• String Trio No.3 (1966)
• Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (1968)
• Trio No.2 for clarinet, violin and piano (1970)
• Suite No.2 for viola solo (1971)
• Soliloquy for clarinet solo (1971)
• Concerto sur "Auprès de ma blonde
  Auprès de ma Blonde
  "Auprès de ma blonde" or "Le Prisonnier de Hollande" is a popular chanson dating to the 17th century...
  
  " for trumpet and piano (1975)
• Threnodie for viola, cello and organ (1975)
• Sonata for 2 violins and piano (1977)
• Intermezzo idilliaco for clarinet and piano (1978)
• String Trio No.4 (1978)
• String Quartet No.4 (1978)
• String Quartet No.5 (1978)
• Sonata for viola and piano (1979)
• Trio for violin, cello and piano (1979)
• Sonata Accompagnata for bassoon and piano or orchestra (1980)

Keyboard

• Meditation on a Hebrew Raga for organ (1961)
• Study on the Whole-Tone Scales for piano (1971)
• Piano Sonata No.1 (1973)
• Piano Sonata No.2 (1974)
• Piano Sonata No.3 (1975)
• Piano Sonata No.4 (1976)
• Piano Sonata No.5
• Hommage romantique for piano (1977)
• Fantaisie dialoguée for organ and piano (1980)

Vocal

• Gandamus, Cantata for mixed chorus, wind orchestra and timpani (1964)
• Li T'ai Po's Answer for tenor, string orchestra and flute (1979)
• Eins und Alles for baritone and string orchestra (1980); words by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
  
  

External Links

• Ernst Levy's official website (created under support of his son, Frank Ezra Levy)
• Guide to the Ernst Levy Papers (University of Chicago Library)