Beth Levin Headlines Meridian Performances Season

Meridian Performances launches its new season on October 27 at 8 pm in Merkin Hall with a concert by Beth Levin, a pianist whose artistic fearlessness is matched by her technical excellence. Her program for the evening features an astounding array of showpieces: Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, Sonata in B Minor, S. 178 by Franz Liszt, and Portrait Miniatures: Three Women by Andrew Rudin.

Levin's kaleidoscopic program for the evening demonstrates her relentless pursuit of repertoire that intrigues, delights, and challenges her audience. Mussorgsky and Liszt are examples of Beth's bold new interpretations of established classics. Unwilling to remain within the confines of the traditional 19th-century canon, Beth Levin has championed numerous contemporary composers. Jonathan Dawe, Frank Brickle, Alba Potes, Roger Stubblefield, David Post, and Andrew Rudin have all composed new works for her to premiere; Portrait Miniatures: Three Women by Rudin reiterates her commitment to these new musical voices of the twenty-first century. Levin recently shared her inspiration for the diverse range of styles on the program:

"When Christoph Schluren at Aldila Records suggested I record the Liszt sonata, I was both excited and curious about the work. I read through it and was surprised at my sense of kinship with the music and wonderment at its scope, epic proportion, vast beauty, and the deep journey it promised. I also eagerly anticipated the chance to revisit and re-think Pictures at an Exhibition, a work I learned years ago. I am grateful to Andrew Rudin for graciously giving me Portrait Miniatures as an exciting starting point for the program."

Natasha Cherny, founder, and principal of Cherny Concert & Artist Management Ltd. expressed her exuberance for this noteworthy opening of the Meridian 2022-2023 series, enthusing,

"Beth Levin approaches every single piece, be it from the classical era or composed two weeks ago, as though it were brand new. How someone who has been steeped in music since early childhood and has heard these pieces over and over all her life can still make them brand new, I don't know; I have witnessed it, though, and in October, the rest of New York will have the opportunity to hear it with me."

Since her debut at age twelve with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Beth Levin has been 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."

Future Meridian Performances this season include Pegasus: The Orchestra on November 15; concert pianist and transcriber Vyacheslav Gryaznov on December 13; pianist Asiya Korepanova on February 21; Sergey Antonov, cellist, and Karen Hakobyan, pianist on March 14; and pianist and transcriber Florian Noack on April 25. For more information, visit ccaml.com.