Robert D. Levin
Encyclopedia
Robert D. Levin is a classical performer, musicologist
, and composer, and is the Artistic Director of the Sarasota Music Festival
.
, and Andrew Jackson High School, but spent his junior year studying music with Nadia Boulanger
in Paris
. He attended Harvard
, where he earned his A.B.
magna cum laude in 1968, writing a thesis titled The Unfinished Works of W. A. Mozart.
Levin took private lessons at institutions such as Chatham Square Music School, Conservatoire National Supérieur, and the Fontainebleau School of Music in:
, then was associate professor of music and coordinator of theory at SUNY Purchase
, where he was made full professor in 1975. From 1986 to 1993, he served as professor of piano at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
in Germany. In 1993, he became professor of music at his alma mater Harvard University, a position he continues to hold. In 1994 he was made Dwight P. Robinson, Jr. Professor of the Humanities at Harvard, and he was head tutor from 1998 to 2003 and in 2004.
Levin's academic career has combined teaching and tutoring performance--especially keyboard instrument
s, but also conducting--and music theory, with an emphasis on classical music history.
compositions by Mozart
, but also Johann Sebastian Bach
.
His completions of several unfinished Mozart works, including the Requiem
in D minor and Große Messe
in C minor, are considered his most important achievements. In the Mozart Requiem, he reconstructed an Amen fugue from Mozart's own sketches. John Eliot Gardiner
commissioned him to write missing orchestral parts to five movements of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, such as Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162
, resulting in other important, though less comprehensive, works. As a performer, he is best known for his work as a piano soloist for Classical-Era concerti
, and particularly for his "expert" handling of the works of Mozart. In performance, he is known for attempting to re-create performance practice from the time of the composer, such as improvising cadenzas.
Levin has also composed several works, including the following:
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...
, and composer, and is the Artistic Director of the Sarasota Music Festival
Sarasota Music Festival
Sarasota Music Festival is an American classical music festival held annually during the month of June in Sarasota, Florida under the sponsorship of the Sarasota Orchestra. The Festival was founded in 1965 by conductor Paul Wolfe who remained director of the festival through the summer of 2006....
.
Education
Levin attended the Brooklyn Friends SchoolBrooklyn Friends School
Brooklyn Friends School is a Quaker school in New York City. Brooklyn Friends School is an independent, college preparatory Quaker school serving a culturally diverse educational community of approximately 700 students, ages 20 months through 12th grade.-History:Founded in 1867 by the Religious...
, and Andrew Jackson High School, but spent his junior year studying music with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He attended Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, where he earned his A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
magna cum laude in 1968, writing a thesis titled The Unfinished Works of W. A. Mozart.
Levin took private lessons at institutions such as Chatham Square Music School, Conservatoire National Supérieur, and the Fontainebleau School of Music in:
- Piano, with Jan Gorbaty, Louis Martin, Alice Gaultier-Léon, Jean CasadesusJean CasadesusJean Casadesus was a French classical pianist. He was the son of the renowned pianists Robert and Gaby Casadesus, and grandnephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus.Jean Casadesus was born in Paris...
, Clifford CurzonClifford CurzonSir Clifford Michael Curzon, CBE was an English pianist.-Early life:Clifford Michael Siegenberg was born in London to Michael and Constance Mary Siegenberg...
, and Robert CasadesusRobert CasadesusRobert Casadesus was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a famous musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus.-Biography:Robert Casadesus was born in Paris... - Organ, with Nadia Boulanger
- SolfègeSolfegeIn music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
, with Seymour Bernstein, Louis Martin, and Annette Dieudonné - CounterpointCounterpointIn music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, with Suzanne BlochSuzanne BlochSuzanne Bloch was a Swiss-American musician and an influential pioneer of Early Music Revival during the 20th century.-Biography:...
and Nadia Boulanger - Composition, with Stefan WolpeStefan WolpeStefan Wolpe was a German-born composer.-Life:Wolpe was born in Berlin. He attended the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory from the age of fourteen, and the Berlin Hochschule für Musik in 1920-1921. He studied composition under Franz Schreker and was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni...
- Conducting, with Eleazar de CarvalhoEleazar de CarvalhoEleazar de Carvalho was a Brazilian conductor and composer.-Biography:De Carvalho's parents were Manuel Alfonso de Carvalho and Dalila Mendonça...
Academic career
Upon graduation from Harvard, Levin was named head of the theory department at Curtis Institute of MusicCurtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
, then was associate professor of music and coordinator of theory at SUNY Purchase
State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...
, where he was made full professor in 1975. From 1986 to 1993, he served as professor of piano at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...
in Germany. In 1993, he became professor of music at his alma mater Harvard University, a position he continues to hold. In 1994 he was made Dwight P. Robinson, Jr. Professor of the Humanities at Harvard, and he was head tutor from 1998 to 2003 and in 2004.
Levin's academic career has combined teaching and tutoring performance--especially keyboard instrument
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s, but also conducting--and music theory, with an emphasis on classical music history.
Contributions to composition
Levin has completed and reconstructed a number of classical works, especially unfinishedUnfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
compositions by Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang 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...
, but also Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
His completions of several unfinished Mozart works, including the Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
in D minor and Große Messe
Große Messe
The Great Mass in C minor, , K. 427 ), is a musical setting of the Mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The mass in C minor was composed in 1782 and 1783 in Vienna. The large scale work, set for two soprano soloists, a tenor and a bass, double chorus and large orchestra, remained...
in C minor, are considered his most important achievements. In the Mozart Requiem, he reconstructed an Amen fugue from Mozart's own sketches. John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
commissioned him to write missing orchestral parts to five movements of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, such as Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe , BWV 162, is a church cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach in Weimar for the 20th Sunday after Trinity.-History and words:...
, resulting in other important, though less comprehensive, works. As a performer, he is best known for his work as a piano soloist for Classical-Era concerti
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
, and particularly for his "expert" handling of the works of Mozart. In performance, he is known for attempting to re-create performance practice from the time of the composer, such as improvising cadenzas.
Levin has also composed several works, including the following:
- 2 clarinet sonatas (1961; 1967–68)
- 2 Short Piano Pieces (1966–67)
- Bassoon Sonata (1965–66)
- Woodwind Quintet (1965)
- Piano Quartet (1964–65)
- Piano Sonata (1962)
External links
- Robert D. Levin at Harvard University Department of MusicHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
- An article by Levin regarding improvisation and Mozart
- Hear Robert Levin in concert from WGBH Boston
- SEED article about improvisation, heavily featuring Levin