“The news came as a complete surprise, and moved me tremendously,” said Hewitt.
Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt has made history today as the first women to be awarded the prestigious City of Leipzig Bach Medal.
“…Never since the Canadian Glenn Gould has there been an artist who has placed Bach interpretations on the modern concert piano at the centre of their work as much as Gould’s compatriot, Angela Hewitt. …”
Hewitt has commanded a respect as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the keyboard works for Bach, particularly her recordings between 1994 and 2005.
The award will be bestowed on June 20 by the Mayor of the City of Leipzig during a gala concert for Bachfest 2020, where she will also perform the Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
“To receive such an award from the city which is synonymous with Johann Sebastian Bach, and to be added to such a distinguished list of former recipients, is more than I could ever have imagined,” Hewitt wrote in a statement announced on the BachFest Leipzig Facebook page. “…It has given me great happiness to take Bach to all corners of the globe, and to see the comfort and joy it brings people of all backgrounds.”
Hewitt dedicated the award to her parents, who “both adored Bach and Leipzig — especially my organist father who made Bach so alive to me as a child.”
Bach Medal laureates include Klaus Mertens (2019), Robert D. Levin (2018), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (2007) Sir John Eliot Gardiner (2005), Helmuth Rilling (2004) and Gustav Leonhardt (2003).
The concert is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts. Pre-Sale starts tomorrow. Details here.
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