I believe it was Jon Jost, our very first guest on this podcast who first put me in touch with Beth Levin. 

I am most happy he did because Levin is an ideal guest if you want to hear about the world of the piano as instrument and classical music more generally.

Many decades ago - in the middle 1980s to be exact - I was exciting a period in which I was strictly trained in what is called the Classical field and decisively entering the jazz and popular field.

I learned so much through my classical training and, though part of me did love it, my greatest wish and dream was to do original music rather than that written boy others - even if those others were the best composers of all time. 

A major theme in this podcast is that of artistic choice and every artist needs to decide what choice best reflects who they are. I feel that in having Beth Levin on the show, as corny or highfalutin as the following might sound, is a something like a living link to the world of Beethoven - and much more. 

Beth Levin is that good and also that deeply rooted in that particular musical tradition. I can't think of a more exciting or pleasing episode for your your pianist-host and my only hope is that our enthusiasm for the piano is communicated thoroughly as you listen to our episode. 

Bio 

Brooklyn-based pianist Beth Levin is celebrated as a bold interpreter of challenging works, from the Romantic canon to leading modernist composers. 

The New York Times praised her “fire and originality,” while The New Yorker called her playing “revelatory.” Fanfare described Levin’s artistry as “fierce in its power,” with “a huge range of colors.” 

Debuting as a child prodigy with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age twelve, Levin was subsequently taught and guided by legendary pianists such as Rudolf Serkin, Leonard Sure and Dorothy Taubman. Another of her teachers, Paul Badura- Skoda, praised Levin as “a pianist of rare qualities and the highest professional caliber.” Her deep well of experience allows an intuitive connection to the great pianistic traditions, to Bach, to Mozart, to Beethoven. 

Critics hail the immediacy of her performances. “Levin plays with a rare percussive audacity, making notes and phrases that usually rush by in the background stand out in high relief,” writes Richard Brody in The New Yorker. 

Website: https://www.bethlevinpiano.com/ Social Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ beth.levin.music/ Link’d In: linkedin.com/in/beth- levin-30909332 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ bethlevinpiano/ Twitter:https://twitter.com/op109 

Links to Beth’s beautiful piano works: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7phxpwTfe2OtH043hJ4nfO https://soundcloud.com/bethlevin1/ravel-gaspard-de-la-nuit- no1-ondine https://soundcloud.com/wkcr/beth-levin-on-wkcr https://soundcloud.com/bethlevin1/dante-sonata https://open.spotify.com/artist/7phxpwTfe2OtH043hJ4nfO Excellent article about Marian Filar by Mark AInley of the Piano FIles: https://www.thepianofiles.com/the-magnificent-marian- filar/ Beethoven 3rd concerto of mine/ 2017, Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awd_h_XwFos 

Links to Beth’s written works: Over the years I've written articles for: lafolia.com https://www.lafolia.com/a-look-at-schuberts-sechs- moments-musicaux-op-94-d780/ https://www.lafolia.com/?s=beth+levin **** https://soundcloud.com/bethlevin1/dante-sonata