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Angela HewittCC OBE (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for herBach interpretations.[1]
Hewitt was born inOttawa,Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality), who was choirmaster atChrist Church Cathedral in Ottawa.[2][3] She began piano studies at the age of three with her mother. She earned a scholarship at the age of five. She studied violin withWalter Prystawski,recorder withWolfgang Grunsky, and ballet withNesta Toumine in Ottawa. Her first full-length recital was at the age of nine, atthe Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where she studied from 1964 to 1973 withEarle Moss andMyrtle Guerrero. She then went on to be the student of French pianistJean-Paul Sevilla at theUniversity of Ottawa.
Hewitt has performed around the world in recital and as soloist with orchestra. She is best known for her cycle of Bach recordings which she began in 1994 and finished in 2005—covering all of the major keyboard works of J. S. Bach. Her recording of Bach'sThe Art of Fugue was released on October 17, 2014.[4] Her discography also includes works byFrancois Couperin,Jean-Philippe Rameau,Olivier Messiaen,Emmanuel Chabrier,Maurice Ravel,Robert Schumann,Ludwig van Beethoven,Frédéric Chopin,Claude Debussy andGabriel Fauré. She has recorded two discs ofMozart concertos with theOrchestra da Camera di Mantova, and a third with Ottawa'sNational Arts Centre Orchestra, conducted byHannu Lintu. With theDSO Berlin and Lintu, she also recorded theSchumann Piano Concerto.
Her entire 2007–08 season was devoted to complete performances of Bach'sThe Well-Tempered Clavier in major cities around the world. Her Hyperion DVD onBach performance on the piano was released to coincide with the tour.
In July 2005, Hewitt launched theTrasimeno Music Festival inPerugia, Italy. She continues to serve as the festival's artistic director.
Hewitt switched toFazioli pianos in 2002.[5] Her unique four-pedal F278 Fazioli was dropped by instrument movers in January 2020 and considered unsalvageable by Paolo Fazioli, the company's founder.[6][7] She chose a new Fazioli (out of five made available for her from which to choose) in January 2021.[8]
In 1975, Hewitt won the Chopin Young Pianists' Competition inBuffalo, New York, and theJohann Sebastian Bach International Piano Competition in Washington, D.C. In 1979, she won third prize in theRobert Casadesus International Piano Competition, since renamed theCleveland International Piano Competition. In 1978, she won piano division in the CBC Radio Competition and in 1980 theDino Ciani Competition inMilan, Italy. The same year, she won an honorable mention at theX International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. In 1985, she won first prize in the Toronto International Bach Piano Competition, which led to a recording withDeutsche Grammophon. In 1986, she was named artist of the year by the Canadian Music Council.
In 2000, she was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada (OC).[9] In 2002, Hewitt was awarded theNational Arts Centre Award, a companion award to theGovernor General's Performing Arts Awards, given to an artist or group who has had an exceptional performance year.[10]
Hewitt was named an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE) on June 17, 2006, andGramophone Artist of the Year in 2006. She received theMIDEM Classical Award for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2010 and was awarded the first-everBBC Radio 3Listener's Award (Royal Philharmonic Society Awards) in 2003. She is also a fellow of theRoyal Society of Canada and has honorary degrees from theUniversity of Ottawa, theUniversity of Toronto,Queen's University (Kingston), TheOpen University (Milton Keynes, UK),Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax), theUniversity of Saskatchewan, andCarleton University (Ottawa).[11]
On December 30, 2015, Hewitt was promoted toCompanion of the Order of Canada, the highest grade of the honour.[12]
After living in Paris from 1978 to 1985, Hewitt moved to London, which has been her principal residence ever since.[1]
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