Paul Lewis (pianist)
Encyclopedia
Paul Lewis is an English
classical
pianist
. His father worked at the Liverpool docks and his mother was a local council worker; there were no musicians in his family background.
Lewis started out on the cello
as that was the only instrument on which his school could offer him tuition. At age 14, he was accepted into Chetham's School of Music
in Manchester
, where his piano studies blossomed. Among his music teachers were Ryszard Bakst
(at Chetham's), Joan Havill
(at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
) and Alfred Brendel
. His first international achievement was the second prize at the 1994 World Piano Competition in London. He also won the Dudley and Royal Overseas League Piano Competitions.
Lewis is strongly affiliated with the Wigmore Hall
, London. He has played in many prestigious venues and festivals all over the world, and with many notable orchestras and conductors.
Lewis performed all 32 of the Beethoven
piano sonatas on tour in the United States and Europe between the 2005 and 2007 seasons, in parallel with his complete recording of the cycle for Harmonia Mundi
. Each of these CD releases has been included in Gramophone magazine's "Editor's Choice", and in August 2008, volume 4 of the series was awarded Gramophones "Best Instrumental" recording and "Best Recording of the Year".http://www.gramophone.co.uk/awardstemplate.asp?id=990&award_year=2008
In July and August 2010, Lewis became the first pianist ever to perform all five Beethoven Concertos during a season of The BBC Proms
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. His father worked at the Liverpool docks and his mother was a local council worker; there were no musicians in his family background.
Lewis started out on the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
as that was the only instrument on which his school could offer him tuition. At age 14, he was accepted into Chetham's School of Music
Chetham's School of Music
Chetham's School of Music , familiarly known as "Chets", is a specialist independent co-educational music school, situated in Manchester city centre, in North West England. It was established in 1969, incorporating Chetham's Hospital School, founded as a charity school by Humphrey Chetham in 1653...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, where his piano studies blossomed. Among his music teachers were Ryszard Bakst
Ryszard Bakst
Ryszard Bakst was a Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian origin.Bakst was a descendant of the Russian artist Leon Bakst...
(at Chetham's), Joan Havill
Joan Havill
Joan Havill is a respected piano teacher and Senior Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She was born in New Zealand where she began her musical studies giving concerts and broadcasts from early childhood...
(at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
) and Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
. His first international achievement was the second prize at the 1994 World Piano Competition in London. He also won the Dudley and Royal Overseas League Piano Competitions.
Lewis is strongly affiliated with the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, London. He has played in many prestigious venues and festivals all over the world, and with many notable orchestras and conductors.
Lewis performed all 32 of the Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
piano sonatas on tour in the United States and Europe between the 2005 and 2007 seasons, in parallel with his complete recording of the cycle for Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
. Each of these CD releases has been included in Gramophone magazine's "Editor's Choice", and in August 2008, volume 4 of the series was awarded Gramophones "Best Instrumental" recording and "Best Recording of the Year".http://www.gramophone.co.uk/awardstemplate.asp?id=990&award_year=2008
In July and August 2010, Lewis became the first pianist ever to perform all five Beethoven Concertos during a season of The BBC Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
.
Reviews
"There is in Lewis's playing a strong physicality, a firm connection between his deep thinking about the music and his articulation of it. He knows and can define its character, and can show how its rhythmic, harmonic and melodic components coalesce. This was playing of intellectual rigour and imaginative vigour." Geoffrey Norris, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
Discography
- Harmonia MundiHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
:- SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
: Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958, Piano Sonata No. 14 in A minor ("Grande Sonate"), D. 784 (Op. posth. 143) (2002) CD ASINAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
B00005QG1F - Schubert. Last Sonatas D.959 & D.960, (2003) CD (HMC901800) ASIN B00008O6EO
- LisztFranz LisztFranz 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...
: Sonata in B minor (2004) CD (HMC901845) ASIN B0002I746S - BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.1 (2005) CD (HMC901902) ASINAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
B000A5B25W - Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.2 (2007) CD (HMC901903.05, 3 CDs) ASIN B000HXDS04
- Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.3 (2007) CD (HMC901906.08, 3 CDs)
- Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.4 (2008) CD (HMC901909.11, 3 CDs)
- Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Belohlavek (2010) (3 CDs)
- Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin D.795, Mark Padmore - Tenor
- Schubert: Winterreise D.911, Mark Padmore - Tenor
- Schubert
- Hyperion RecordsHyperion RecordsHyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
, with Leopold String Triohttp://www.amazon.com/s?search-alias=classical&keywords=Leopold%20String%20Trio:- MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
: Piano Quartet in G minor; Piano Quartet in E flat (2003) ASIN B00008ZZ3E - Schubert: Trout Quintet
- Schubert: PIano Duets (with Steven Osborne)
- Mozart
External links
- Paul Lewis at Harmonia Mundi
- Paul Lewis at Ingpen & Williams
- Midsummer Music - International Chamber Music Festival
- "Beethoven: Diabelli Variations," Review by the New York Times