February 21, 2003

Contact: Sarah Ray



802-443-5794

sray@middlebury.edu

Posted: February 21, 2003

MIDDLEBURY,

VT -

One of the most sought-after classical artists of his young generation,

English pianist Paul Lewis plans an exclusive engagement in the United States

on Friday, March 7, at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall at Middlebury College’s

Center for the Arts on South Main Street (Route 30).

The

evening performance will feature selections from Haydn, Janácek

and Schubert.

Truly an inexhaustible

performer, teacher and recording artist, Lewis has been a star on the

rise for several years. In a brisk schedule of performances, he appears

regularly as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist at some

of the world’s most prominent venues.

During a whirlwind

summer last year, the London newspaper The Telegraph had this to say of

Lewis’ ability: “Lewis is one of the exceptional artists who

compels you to concentrate closely on the music because his playing is

so obviously the product not merely of acute stylistic instinct, but also

of deep interpretive thought. There is a sharp intellect at work.”

Lewis attended

Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall, studying with Ryszard

Bakst and Joan Havill; he later received regular coaching from Alfred

Brendel. By 1999, he was featured by the BBC as one of its “New Generation”

artists. From 2000-2002, he was a professor of piano at the Royal Academy

of Music in London.

A regular presence

at London’s Wigmore Hall, Lewis won the 2003 South Bank Show Classical

Music Award for his acclaimed Schubert piano sonata series, which he performed

at a variety of venues across the United Kingdom in 2001-2002. Last season,

he also performed at other locations around the world, including New York’s

Lincoln Center, Vancouver’s Chan Centre, the Tonhalle in Zurich,

as well as concert halls in Austria and Spain.

Due this spring

is the release of his second Schubert disc for Harmonia Mundi. Lewis’

first Schubert recording on the label won critical acclaim and garnered

the prestigious Diapason d’Or Choc de L’Année 2002 award

in France.

Highlights of

the current season include debut recitals in Madrid, Geneva and Paris;

a sold out performance of his Beethoven Diabelli Variations program at

Wigmore Hall; and the anticipated spring release from Hyperion Records

of his recording of the Mozart piano quartets with the Leopold String

Trio.

The

success of his Schubert series has led to invitations from all over the

world and commitments on his calendar into 2007, including a new undertaking,

his first complete Beethoven piano sonata series.

Lewis’

upcoming engagements include debut recitals in Lyon, Florence, Milan and

Dallas. He plans a spring tour of Australia and New Zealand, as well as

a number of concerto engagements, including appearances with the Liverpool

Philharmonic, the Melbourne Symphony and the Hallé Orchestra. He

is also working on a staged production of Schubert’s song cycle “Die

Schöne Müllerin” at the Frankfurt Opera. This summer he

expects to return to the Edinburgh Festival and both the Risor and Vancouver

Chamber Music Festivals.

Lewis’

Vermont visit is sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series.

Reserved

seating tickets for the March 7 performance are $10 for general admission

and $8 for seniors. A pre-performance dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. at Rehearsals

Cafe in the Center for the Arts. Reservations are required. For tickets

or dinner reservations, call the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433.

Online tickets and information are available at www.middlebury.edu/cfa.