This article is about the musical competition. For the bridge championship, see Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs.
The Leventritt Competition was a highly prestigious international competition for classical pianists and violinists. It was founded in 1939 by the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation Inc. of Cold Spring, New York, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventritt. The Leventritt Competition has now been discontinued.
More recently, the Cliburn contest in Fort Worth, Texas, has attracted more publicity. The Leventritt award was sparingly given, and there was no award presented if the judges felt the required standard was not achieved.
Award winners
- 1940: Sidney Foster, piano
- 1941: Erno Valasek, violin; New York Times, October 11, 1941, Amusement Section; The New York Times, February 16,1942; New York Times
- 1943: Eugene Istomin, piano
- 1945: Louise Meiszner, piano
- 1946: David Nadien, violin
- 1947: Alexis Weissenberg, piano
- 1948: Jean Graham, piano
- 1949: Gary Graffman, piano
- 1954: Van Cliburn, piano
- 1955: Betty-Jean Hagen, violin
- 1957: Anton Kuerti, piano
- 1958: Arnold Steinhardt, violin
- 1959: Malcolm Frager, piano
- 1962: Michel Block, piano
- 1964: Itzhak Perlman, violin
- 1965: Tong-Il Han, piano
- 1967: Kyung-wha Chung, violin and Pinchas Zukerman, violin (joint recipients)
- 1969: Joseph Kalichstein, piano
- 1976: No first prize awarded
- 1978: Mitchell Stern, violin
- 1981: Cecile Licad, piano
References
- Leventritt Prize to Pianist; Award System is Changed. New York Times, January 23, 1981, Section C, p. 20.
- "Publicity, Artistry Vaults Van Cliburn To 1 Million". Billboard. January 6, 1962. p. 8. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
...in 1954 he won the important U.S. piano competition, the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation award...
- King, Betty Nygaard; McIntosh, R. Dale (July 2, 2006). "Betty-Jean Hagen". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- Parmenter, Ross (October 2, 1958), "Violinist, 21, wins Leventritt Prize; Arnold Steinhardt of Los Angeles Is Victor Over 5 Other Finalists Here", The New York Times, retrieved September 25, 2011
- Taubman, Howard (October 1, 1959), "Music: A Step Forward; Leventritt Competition Grows in Stature", The New York Times, retrieved September 25, 2011
- Schonberg, Harold C.; Hughes, Allen (November 1, 1960), "Music: Frager, a Confident Pianist; Competition Winner in Carnegie Hall Debut Shows Virtuoso Skill in Prokofieff Sixth", The New York Times
- Strongin, Theodore (April 22, 1964), "Violinist Wins Prize, Loses a Guarnerius", The New York Times, retrieved September 25, 2011
- Sullivan, Dan (October 27, 1965), "Korean Pianist, 23, Is Winner Of 24th Leventritt Competition", The New York Times, retrieved September 24, 2011
- "Leventritt Fund Winners". Billboard. May 27, 1967. p. 40. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
Kyung Wha Chung, 19, of Korea, and Pinchas Zuckcrman, 18, of Israel were declared winners of the 25th International Competition of the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation last Tuesday (17), the first time two performers were named.
- Hughes, Allen (May 28, 1969), "Joseph Kalichstein Wins Leventritt Piano Award", The New York Times, retrieved September 25, 2011
- "Pianists Fail to Win Leventritt Prize", The New York Times, May 27, 1976, retrieved September 25, 2011
Bibliography
- Horowitz, Joseph (1990), The Ivory Trade: Music and the Business of Music at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Summit Books, ISBN 978-0-671-67387-1