Paul Lewis - Piano

Paul Lewis is one of the foremost interpreters of the Central European piano repertoire, his performances and recordings of Beethoven and Schubert receiving universal critical acclaim. He was awarded CBE for his services to music, and the sincerity and depth of his musical approach have won him fans around the world. This global popularity is reflected in the world-class orchestras with whom he works, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus. His close relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra led to his selection as 2020 Koussevitzky Artist at Tanglewood.

Lewis has been central to celebrations of the composer’s 250th anniversary year around the world. He took part in the BBC’s three-part documentary Being Beethoven and will perform a concerto cycle at Tanglewood during summer 2022.  He has performed the cycle all over the world, including with Orquestra Simfonica Camera Musicae, the Melbourne Symphony, São Paulo State Symphony and Royal Flemish Philharmonic orchestras, and was the first pianist to play the complete cycle in a single season at the BBC Proms in 2010.

Beyond many award-winning Beethoven recordings, his discography with Harmonia Mundi also demonstrates his expertise in Romantic repertoire such as Schumann, Mussorgsky, Brahms and Liszt. He has played at Wigmore Hall more than 100 times and was one of the artists selected to play their lunchtime series at the start of the Coronavirus crisis. He works closely with tenor Mark Padmore in lied recitals around the world – they have recorded three Schubert song cycles together.

Lewis is co-Artistic Director of Midsummer Music in Buckinghamshire, UK and a passionate advocate for music education. He studied with Joan Havill at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel.  In 2021 Paul Lewis became an Irish citizen.

www.paullewispiano.co.uk

Bjørg Lewis - Cello

Bjørg Lewis is one of Norway’s most highly esteemed cellists.  As a soloist, she played with the Oslo Philharmonic as well as many other orchestras throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltics.

Bjørg is a founder member of the Vertavo String Quartet, an internationally-acclaimed ensemble, which has received numerous awards including Norway’s prestigious Grieg Prize. Vertavo launched their own chamber music festival, Vertavofestivalen in 2016.

A busy performance schedule takes Bjørg throughout Europe and North America. A frequent participant in many international chamber music festivals, Bjørg has also been regularly invited to join the Nash Ensemble for Wigmore Hall concerts and tours for the past six years. She was Artistic Director of the Elverum Festival in Norway from 2001- 2015 and co-Artistic Director of Midsummer Music since its inception in 2009.

Since 2018, Bjørg has held the position of Associate Professor of Cello at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.

Bjørg plays on a 1748 Gennaro Gagliano cello provided for her by the Dextra Musica Foundation, previously played by Martin Lovett of the Amadeus Quartet

www.vertavo.com