Bruce Levingston

Pianist Bruce Levingston is one of today’s leading figures in contemporary music. Many of the country’s most important composers have written works for him including Philip Glass and Pulitzer Prize winners William Bolcom and Charles Wuorinen. His Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center world premiere performances of their works have won notable critical acclaim. The New Yorker has described him as “elegant and engaging…a poetic pianist who has a gift for glamorous programming,” while The New York Times has praised his “graceful, hauntingly serene performance” and “dreamy, sensuous sound.” A soloist and chamber musician in many international music festivals, his recordings and performances have been broadcast throughout the world.

Levingston’s recent CD, Portraits, which includes Philip Glass’s A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, has received international acclaim. Classics Today lauded his “transcendent virtuosity” while Germany’s Klassic Magazin noted his “warm playing, deep understanding and intimate, richly colored sound.”

Levingston is the founder and artistic director of the Premiere Commission, Inc., a non-profit foundation that has commissioned and premiered over thirty works of music including A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close. The Washington Post named the organization’s presentation of sixteen new works for string quartet “Best Concert of the Year”. In the 2007-2008 season, Levingston will perform a solo concert of premieres at Carnegie/Zankel Hall and appear as guest artist for the world premiere of American Ballet Theatre’s production C. to C. (Close to Chuck) based on the life of Chuck Close.