| Paul Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Paul Lewis |
| Born | 20 May 1972 |
| Origin | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Classical Pianist |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Website | Official Website |
Paul Lewis (born 20 May 1972 in Liverpool) is an English classical pianist.[1] His father worked at the Liverpool docks and his mother was a local council worker; there were no musicians in his family background.[1]
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.[2] He also won the Dudley and Royal Overseas League Piano Competitions.
Lewis is strongly affiliated with the Wigmore Hall, London.[2][3] 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 Gramophone's "Best Instrumental" recording and "Best Recording of the Year".[1]
In July and August 2010, Lewis became the first pianist ever to perform all five Beethoven Concertos during a season of The BBC Proms.[4]
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"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 Telegraph