Biography
Concert pianist, recording artist, and teacher, with an international career spanning more than 30 countries.
Michael Lewin is internationally applauded as one of America’s foremost concert pianists, performing to acclaim in over 30 countries. Acclaimed by The London Times as an artist of “majestic power and searing emotion,” his popular recordings, passionate performances and dazzling virtuosity have won him a worldwide career and a devoted following.
Commanding a repertoire of 40 piano concertos, his orchestral engagements include the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Cairo Symphony, Bucharest ‘Enescu’ Philharmonic, China National Radio and Film Orchestra, Filharmónica de Guadalajara, Athens State Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, 13 appearances with the Boston Pops, the Symphonies of Phoenix, Indianapolis, Miami, Colorado, Nevada, West Virginia, Illinois, North Carolina and the Sinfonia da Camera. He has premiered two piano concertos by David Kocsis and performed Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” over 50 times. He has collaborated with conductors including Carlos Miguel Prieto, Keith Lockhart, Constantine Orbelian, Ian Hobson, Sergei Babayan, Maximiano Valdés, Hugh Wolff, Anton Kersjes and Seymour Lipkin. During the 2027–28 concert season he will premiere Douglas Knehans’ Piano Concerto No. 2, “Hurricane,” which is dedicated to him.
Lewin’s career was launched with victories in the Liszt International Piano Competition in the Netherlands, the William Kapell International Competition, and the American Pianists Award. At his New York Lincoln Center debut, The New York Times proclaimed that “his immense technique and ability qualify him eminently for success.” His tours have taken him to the Ravinia, Newport and Spoleto Festivals, Moscow’s Great Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall Theater, Taipei’s National Concert Hall, China’s Poly Theatres, the Opera House of Cairo, the Athens Megaron, Holland’s Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Teatro Niccolini in Firenze. His popular PBS Television recital hosted by Victor Borge, featuring the Schubert “Wanderer Fantasy” and Chopin Etudes, was widely rebroadcast. He has been the featured interview in Clavier and Piano & Keyboard magazines and edited piano music of Griffes for C.F. Peters. A Steinway Artist, he was Artistic Director of the Steinway & Sons 150th Anniversary Gala Concert held in 2003 in Boston’s Symphony Hall. A sought-after chamber musician, he was Artistic Director of the Boston Conservatory Chamber Players and was a member of the Lewin-Chang-Díaz Trio and the Lewin-Muresanu Duo. He has premiered music by Joel Hoffman, David Kocsis, Sylvia Rabinof, Robert Chumbley, Andy Vores, John Harbison and Douglas Knehans. Composers with whom Mr. Lewin is particularly associated include Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Griffes and a host of American and Latin American composers.
Mr. Lewin won a Grammy Award in 2014 for the New Age album Winds of Samsara, and a Round Glass Music Award for his two Debussy recordings for Sono Luminus, Starry Night and Beau Soir, which have garnered extraordinary critical praise. The discs include both Books of Préludes, Estampes and other solo works. Also on Sono Luminus are Piano Phantoms, music inspired by phantoms and the spirit world, and If I Were a Bird, a popular collection of bird-themed pieces that received a Grammy nomination in the Producer of the Year category. For Naxos he made a best-selling collection of Scarlatti Sonatas and a landmark two-CD set of the complete piano music of American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes. His Centaur recordings include Michael Lewin Plays Liszt, A Russian Piano Recital—Scriabin, Glazunov and Balakirev—Bamboula!, piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and the Violin Sonatas of William Bolcom with violinist Irina Muresanu.
One of America’s most sought-after teachers, he has taught many prize-winning pianists, gives master classes worldwide and is a frequent international competition judge. He is Professor and Head of Piano at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Artistic Director of the Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series. Born in New York, he studied at the Juilliard School. His teachers include Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefébure, Adele Marcus and Irwin Freundlich. Visit michaellewin.com.
Michael Lewin is one of America’s foremost concert pianists, winning over audiences in 30 countries with playing of “majestic power and searing emotion” (The London Times). His career was launched with victories in the Liszt International Competition in Utrecht, the American Pianists Award and the William Kapell International Piano Competition. His numerous recordings have won a Grammy Award and a Roundglass Music Award.
He has appeared as orchestral soloist with the Netherlands Philharmonic, Cairo Symphony, China National Radio Orchestra, Bucharest Philharmonic, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Athens State Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Phoenix, Indianapolis, Miami, North Carolina, West Virginia, Nevada, New Orleans, Colorado, Guadalajara and Puerto Rico Symphonies. Recital appearances include New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall Theatre, Holland’s Muziekcentrum, Moscow’s Great Hall, the Athens Megaron, the National Gallery of Art, Firenze’s Teatro Niccolini, the Newport, Ravinia and Spoleto Festivals and PBS Television. His extensive repertoire includes over 40 piano concertos, and he is particularly praised for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and a host of American and Latin American composers. He has premiered many new works, and during the 2027–28 concert season will perform Douglas Knehans’ Piano Concerto No. 2, “Hurricane,” which was written for him.
Mr. Lewin’s award-winning discography on Sono Luminus, Naxos and Centaur includes the Debussy recordings Beau Soir and Starry Night, the complete piano music of Charles T. Griffes, Scarlatti Sonatas, Michael Lewin Plays Liszt, a Russian recital of Scriabin, Balakirev and Glazunov, the Gottschalk disc Bamboula!, If I Were a Bird, Piano Phantoms, and the four Violin and Piano Sonatas by William Bolcom with violinist Irina Muresanu. He won a Grammy Award in 2014 for the New Age album Winds of Samsara.
Michael Lewin is Professor and Head of Piano at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He presents master classes worldwide, directs the Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series and has taught many prize-winning and prominent pianists. He is a Juilliard School graduate and a Steinway Artist. His teachers included Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefébure, Adele Marcus and Irwin Freundlich. Visit michaellewin.com.
Michael Lewin es reconocido internacionalmente como uno de los pianistas de concierto más destacados de Estados Unidos y ha actuado con gran éxito en más de 30 países. Elogiado por The London Times como un artista de “poder majestuoso y emoción abrasadora”, sus populares grabaciones, apasionadas interpretaciones y deslumbrante virtuosismo le han valido una carrera internacional y un público fiel.
Con un repertorio de 40 conciertos para piano, sus compromisos orquestales incluyen la Orquesta Filarmónica de los Países Bajos, la Orquesta de Cámara de Moscú, la Sinfónica de El Cairo, la Filarmónica “Enescu” de Bucarest, la Orquesta Nacional de Radio y Cine de China, la Filarmónica de Guadalajara, la Orquesta Estatal de Atenas, la Orquesta de Jóvenes de las Américas, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, 13 presentaciones con los Boston Pops, las sinfónicas de Phoenix, Indianápolis, Miami, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia Occidental, Illinois y Carolina del Norte, así como la Sinfonia da Camera. Ha estrenado dos conciertos para piano de David Kocsis y ha interpretado la Rhapsody in Blue de Gershwin en más de 50 ocasiones. Ha colaborado con directores como Carlos Miguel Prieto, Keith Lockhart, Constantine Orbelian, Ian Hobson, Sergei Babayan, Maximiano Valdés, Hugh Wolff, Anton Kersjes y Seymour Lipkin. Durante la temporada 2027–28 estrenará el Concierto para piano n.º 2 de Douglas Knehans, Hurricane, obra dedicada a él.
La carrera de Lewin se inició con triunfos en el Concurso Internacional de Piano Franz Liszt de los Países Bajos, el Concurso Internacional William Kapell y el American Pianists Award. Tras su debut neoyorquino en el Lincoln Center, The New York Times afirmó que “su inmensa técnica y capacidad lo califican de manera eminente para el éxito”. Sus giras lo han llevado a los festivales de Ravinia, Newport y Spoleto; al Gran Salón de Moscú; al City Hall Theater de Hong Kong; al National Concert Hall de Taipéi; a los teatros Poly de China; a la Ópera de El Cairo; al Megaron de Atenas; al Muziekcentrum Vredenburg de los Países Bajos; al Wigmore Hall de Londres y al Teatro Niccolini de Florencia. Su recital televisivo para PBS, presentado por Victor Borge y dedicado a la “Wanderer Fantasy” de Schubert y los Estudios de Chopin, fue retransmitido ampliamente. Ha sido entrevistado en las revistas Clavier y Piano & Keyboard, y editó música para piano de Griffes para C.F. Peters. Artista Steinway, fue director artístico del concierto de gala por el 150.º aniversario de Steinway & Sons, celebrado en 2003 en el Symphony Hall de Boston. Como solicitado músico de cámara, fue director artístico de los Boston Conservatory Chamber Players e integrante del Trío Lewin-Chang-Díaz y del Dúo Lewin-Muresanu. Ha estrenado obras de Joel Hoffman, David Kocsis, Sylvia Rabinof, Robert Chumbley, Andy Vores, John Harbison y Douglas Knehans. Entre los compositores con los que se le asocia especialmente figuran Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Griffes y numerosos autores estadounidenses y latinoamericanos.
En 2014, el Sr. Lewin obtuvo un premio Grammy por el álbum de new age Winds of Samsara, y recibió un Round Glass Music Award por sus dos grabaciones de Debussy para Sono Luminus, Starry Night y Beau Soir, aclamadas extraordinariamente por la crítica. Estos discos incluyen ambos libros de Preludios, Estampes y otras obras para piano solo. También grabó para Sono Luminus Piano Phantoms, música inspirada en fantasmas y el mundo de los espíritus, e If I Were a Bird, una popular colección de piezas de temática ornitológica que recibió una nominación al Grammy en la categoría de Productor del Año. Para Naxos realizó una exitosa colección de sonatas de Scarlatti y una histórica edición de dos discos con la obra completa para piano del compositor estadounidense Charles Tomlinson Griffes. Sus grabaciones para Centaur incluyen Michael Lewin Plays Liszt, A Russian Piano Recital —con obras de Scriabin, Glazunov y Balakirev—, Bamboula!, dedicada a la música para piano de Louis Moreau Gottschalk, y las Sonatas para violín de William Bolcom con la violinista Irina Muresanu.
Considerado uno de los profesores más solicitados de Estados Unidos, ha formado a numerosos pianistas galardonados, imparte clases magistrales en todo el mundo y participa con frecuencia como jurado en concursos internacionales. Es profesor y director del Departamento de Piano del Boston Conservatory at Berklee, además de director artístico de la Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series. Nacido en Nueva York, estudió en la Juilliard School. Entre sus maestros se encuentran Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefébure, Adele Marcus e Irwin Freundlich. Visite michaellewin.com.
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