Leventritt Competition

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.

More recently, the Cliburn contest in Fort Worth, Texas, has attracted more publicity. By contrast, the now discontinued Leventritt Competition, held in New York City, did not court popularity but set higher standards and produced more outstanding musicians, including Van Cliburn himself.^[1] The Leventritt award was sparingly given, and there was no award presented if the judges felt the required standard was not achieved.

Award winners

• 1981: Cecile Licad, piano (Licad was given the award although no competition was held)
• 1976: No first prize awarded^[2]
• 1969: Joseph Kalichstein, piano^[3]
• 1967: Kyung-wha Chung, violin and Pinchas Zukerman, violin (joint recipients)^[4]
• 1965: Tong-Il Han, piano^[5]
• 1964: Itzhak Perlman, violin^[6]
• 1962: Michel Block, piano
• 1959: Malcolm Frager, piano^[7][8]
• 1958: Arnold Steinhardt, violin^[9]
• 1957: Anton Kuerti, piano
• 1955: Betty-Jean Hagen, violin^[10]
• 1954: Van Cliburn, piano^[11]
• 1949: Gary Graffman, piano
• 1947: Alexis Weissenberg, piano
• 1946: David Nadien, violin
• 1945: Louise Meiszner, piano
• 1943: Eugene Istomin, piano
• 1941: Sidney Foster, piano

References

1. Horowitz 1990
2. "Pianists Fail to Win Leventritt Prize", The New York Times, 1976-05-27, retrieved 2011-09-25
3. Hughes, Allen (1969-05-28), "Joseph Kalichstein Wins Leventritt Piano Award", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-25
4. "Leventritt Fund Winners". Billboard. May 27, 1967. p. 40. Retrieved 29 March 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.
5. Sullivan, Dan (1965-10-27), "Korean Pianist, 23, Is Winner Of 24th Leventritt Competition", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-24
6. Strongin, Theodore (1964-04-22), "Violinist Wins Prize, Loses a Guarnerius", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-25
7. Taubman, Howard (1959-10-01), "Music: A Step Forward; Leventritt Competition Grows in Stature", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-25
8. Schonberg, Harold C.; Hughes, Allen (1960-11-01), "Music: Frager, a Confident Pianist; Competition Winner in Carnegie Hall Debut Shows Virtuoso Skill in Prokofieff Sixth", The New York Times
9. Parmenter, Ross (1958-10-02), "Violinist, 21, wins Leventritt Prize; Arnold Steinhardt of Los Angeles Is Victor Over 5 Other Finalists Here", The New York Times, retrieved 2011-09-25
10. King, Betty Nygaard; McIntosh, R. Dale (2 July 2006). "Betty-Jean Hagen". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
11. "Publicity, Artistry Vaults Van Cliburn To 1 Million". Billboard. January 6, 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 29 March 2016. ...in 1954 he won the important U.S. piano competition, the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation award...

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