Bright Circle
by Beth Levin
Photo: courtesy of the artist |
Dear Ms. Beth Levin thank you for the opportunity to hear some of your thoughts about your love for music. How would you characterize your dedication to the music showcased in your own exhilarating performances and critically acclaimed recordings? I guess it's really a love that has led to dedication over the years. In the beginning, it all felt like a game and as natural as breathing. And I hope I still imbue performances with those qualities. My dedication could be characterized as more of an obsession, something that takes over and directs the work. |
Does life in Brooklyn have any impact on your musical choices?
I love Brooklyn. I feel so free here. When I moved to Park Slope many years ago I used to walk through the neighborhood and just feel the creative buzz on the streets. You can be very anonymous here when you need to be working and just burrowing deep inside the music. But you can also be noticed here!
You made your debut as a child prodigy with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of twelve. What is your recollection of that life-changing event?
It was dreamlike really. And I was so well prepared by my teacher, the Polish virtuosos Marian Filar. It all happened very naturally and the Beethoven third concerto seemed to fit me very well. I performed it again this year in Neuss, Germany. It had certainly grown in many ways, but perhaps some of the 12-year old still came through- in the humor, the energy and the joy.
Based on your experience, what helps child prodigies grow to have successful careers without burning out or getting lost in fierce competition?
Great teachers and colleagues keep you fresh if you stay open to learning and to changing. A little adversity and competition can actually spur you on and doesn't have to be spirit- crushing. Try never to lose your core and the simplicity of you at the instrument making music.
The long list of famous composers whose works you have performed brilliantly numerous times includes the likes of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, etc. What do you do to remain excited about masterpieces you have probably performed many, many times?
When I performed the last three Beethoven sonatas as a recurrent program I faced the possibility of it becoming stale. But I tend to be a very in the moment player- still having an overarching plan - but never executing it exactly the same way. I usually go in with a sense of not really knowing....that's neither good nor bad, just the way I am at the piano. Sometimes I can't believe it will happen at all and turn out well. But often with a little luck the music and the performance take flight and things happen that go beyond practicing or the expected.
I usually love whatever I'm working on - a kind of blind devotion. On the other hand, I think it is sometimes good to take a break from the instrument and renew your impulses.
I love Brooklyn. I feel so free here. When I moved to Park Slope many years ago I used to walk through the neighborhood and just feel the creative buzz on the streets. You can be very anonymous here when you need to be working and just burrowing deep inside the music. But you can also be noticed here!
You made your debut as a child prodigy with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of twelve. What is your recollection of that life-changing event?
It was dreamlike really. And I was so well prepared by my teacher, the Polish virtuosos Marian Filar. It all happened very naturally and the Beethoven third concerto seemed to fit me very well. I performed it again this year in Neuss, Germany. It had certainly grown in many ways, but perhaps some of the 12-year old still came through- in the humor, the energy and the joy.
Based on your experience, what helps child prodigies grow to have successful careers without burning out or getting lost in fierce competition?
Great teachers and colleagues keep you fresh if you stay open to learning and to changing. A little adversity and competition can actually spur you on and doesn't have to be spirit- crushing. Try never to lose your core and the simplicity of you at the instrument making music.
The long list of famous composers whose works you have performed brilliantly numerous times includes the likes of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, etc. What do you do to remain excited about masterpieces you have probably performed many, many times?
When I performed the last three Beethoven sonatas as a recurrent program I faced the possibility of it becoming stale. But I tend to be a very in the moment player- still having an overarching plan - but never executing it exactly the same way. I usually go in with a sense of not really knowing....that's neither good nor bad, just the way I am at the piano. Sometimes I can't believe it will happen at all and turn out well. But often with a little luck the music and the performance take flight and things happen that go beyond practicing or the expected.
I usually love whatever I'm working on - a kind of blind devotion. On the other hand, I think it is sometimes good to take a break from the instrument and renew your impulses.
Your dedication to performing the music of our time is well documented. How do you see your role in interpreting works by contemporary composers for audiences around the country and the world?
I think it's crucial. I should play more 21st Century music. Mostly I play the music of composer friends who send me fresh scores in the mail.
I was thrilled to play Del Tredici's "Ode to Music" on my most recent CD album, works by Andrew Rudin and also recently the works of Anders Eliasson, a major Swedish composer. I could go on and on naming great contemporary talents - some woefully underplayed.
Who are the artists you turn to for inspiration on any given day?
I am a big listener - but less a listener of pianists and more to instrumentalists and singers. I often go to Bach for inspiration, and to some of the great vintage performers such as Casals, Maria Callas, or Mischa Elman.
Your latest recording, Bright Circle, featured works by Schubert, Brahms and Del Tredici? Is there a story on how and why you selected these composers and their works?
I had played and recorded the late C minor sonata of Schubert and wanted to keep going in that vein with the A major, D 959. I had studied the Brahms/Handel Variations but never recorded them which was part of the choosing process.
David Del Tredici, a friend over the years, had a work based on a Schubert song that I thought would go well with the rest of the program. I performed the pieces in recital several times so that recording them seemed like the perfect next step.
In your long list of achievements, what are you most proud of?
I suppose I'm most proud of the recording of the last three Beethoven sonatas. I never thought I would even play them. Two of my main teachers were Rudolf Serkin and Leonard Shure - both great Beethoven players; masters. I had a sense of the depth and power in the works even before I even started.
People say I play well known works as if they were new. That might be my strength.
What project or event are you looking forward to in the days ahead?
I'm excited that my CD, "Bright Circle", will be aired on a radio station in Moscow on July 4th. I'm learning the Hammerklavier sonata of Beethoven next and hope to record it for a label in Munich headed by a brilliant musician, Christoph Schluren. I guess you can say that the Hammerklavier is my next obsession!
Thank you for these wonderful questions.
I think it's crucial. I should play more 21st Century music. Mostly I play the music of composer friends who send me fresh scores in the mail.
I was thrilled to play Del Tredici's "Ode to Music" on my most recent CD album, works by Andrew Rudin and also recently the works of Anders Eliasson, a major Swedish composer. I could go on and on naming great contemporary talents - some woefully underplayed.
Who are the artists you turn to for inspiration on any given day?
I am a big listener - but less a listener of pianists and more to instrumentalists and singers. I often go to Bach for inspiration, and to some of the great vintage performers such as Casals, Maria Callas, or Mischa Elman.
Your latest recording, Bright Circle, featured works by Schubert, Brahms and Del Tredici? Is there a story on how and why you selected these composers and their works?
I had played and recorded the late C minor sonata of Schubert and wanted to keep going in that vein with the A major, D 959. I had studied the Brahms/Handel Variations but never recorded them which was part of the choosing process.
David Del Tredici, a friend over the years, had a work based on a Schubert song that I thought would go well with the rest of the program. I performed the pieces in recital several times so that recording them seemed like the perfect next step.
In your long list of achievements, what are you most proud of?
I suppose I'm most proud of the recording of the last three Beethoven sonatas. I never thought I would even play them. Two of my main teachers were Rudolf Serkin and Leonard Shure - both great Beethoven players; masters. I had a sense of the depth and power in the works even before I even started.
People say I play well known works as if they were new. That might be my strength.
What project or event are you looking forward to in the days ahead?
I'm excited that my CD, "Bright Circle", will be aired on a radio station in Moscow on July 4th. I'm learning the Hammerklavier sonata of Beethoven next and hope to record it for a label in Munich headed by a brilliant musician, Christoph Schluren. I guess you can say that the Hammerklavier is my next obsession!
Thank you for these wonderful questions.