Leventritt Competition
Encyclopedia
The Leventritt Competition was a highly prestigious international competition for classical pianists and violinists. It was founded in 1939 by the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation Inc. of Cold Spring, New York
, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventritt.
More recently, the Cliburn
contest in Fort Worth, Texas
, has attracted more publicity. By contrast, the now discontinued Leventritt Competition, held in New York City
, did not court popularity but set higher standards and produced more outstanding musicians, including Van Cliburn
himself. The Leventritt award was sparingly given, and there was no award presented if the judges felt the required standard was not achieved.
Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a village located in the Town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York. The population was 1,983 at the 2000 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville...
, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventritt.
More recently, the Cliburn
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
contest in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, has attracted more publicity. By contrast, the now discontinued Leventritt Competition, held in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, did not court popularity but set higher standards and produced more outstanding musicians, including Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
himself. The Leventritt award was sparingly given, and there was no award presented if the judges felt the required standard was not achieved.
Award winners
- 1981: Cecile LicadCecile LicadCecile Licad is a renowned Filipina virtuoso classical pianist dubbed as a "a pianist's pianist" by The New Yorker, "her artistry, a blend of daring musical instinct and superb training." -Biography:...
, piano - 1976: No first prize awarded
- 1969: Joseph KalichsteinJoseph KalichsteinJoseph Kalichstein is a renowned Israeli-born American classical pianist who performs in the concerto, solo recital and chamber music repertoire, the latter mainly with Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson in the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio...
, piano - 1967: Kyung-wha ChungKyung-wha ChungKyung-wha Chung is a Korean violinist.- Biography :Kyung-wha Chung's musical career began at the age of three. Her fame in the seventies and eighties was at the top level, and ranked alongside the great violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman...
, violin and Pinchas ZukermanPinchas ZukermanPinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, violin (joint recipients) - 1964: Itzhak PerlmanItzhak PerlmanItzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
, violin - 1963: Tong-Il HanTong-Il HanHan Tong-il is a South Korean pianist.-Background:Han was born in Hamheung, South Hamgyong, Korea, an area now part of North Korea. He began learning the piano and musical composition from his father at the age of 4. He fled south during the Korean War, ending up in Seoul. He was a guest on the...
, piano - 1962: Michel BlockMichel BlockMichel Block was a renowned pianist and winner of the 1962 Leventritt Competition. Block studied at the Juilliard School. He later taught at the Indiana University School of Music.-References:...
, piano - 1959: Malcolm FragerMalcolm Frager-Life and career:Frager was born in St. Louis, Missouri and studied with Carl Friedberg in New York City from 1949 until Friedberg's death in 1955. In 1957 he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a major in Russian...
, piano - 1958: Arnold SteinhardtArnold SteinhardtArnold Steinhardt , is an American violinist, best known as the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet....
, violin - 1954: Van CliburnVan CliburnHarvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, piano - 1949: Gary GraffmanGary GraffmanGary Graffman is an American classical pianist, teacher of piano and music administrator.Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 7 in 1936 as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova...
, piano - 1947: Alexis WeissenbergAlexis Weissenberg-Early life and career:Born into a Jewish family in Sofia, Weissenberg began taking piano lessons at the age of three from Pancho Vladigerov. He gave his first public performance at the age of eight. After escaping to what was then Palestine in 1945, where he studied under Leo Kestenberg, he went...
, piano - 1943: Eugene IstominEugene IstominEugene George Istomin was an American pianist.Istomin was born in New York City of Russian parents. He was famous for his work in a piano trio, in which he collaborated with Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. Known as the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio, the group made many recordings, particularly of music by...
, piano