Levin, Ira (1958–)

Ira Levin is known internationally for the great versatility of his musical activities. He has conducted well over a thousand performances of 75 operatic titles and is equally at home in concert, with a vast symphonic repertoire. He has worked with many of the world’s leading instrumentalists, singers and stage directors and conducted at important opera houses and orchestras worldwide. He is an award-winning concert pianist and was the pupil and teaching assistant of the legendary Jorge Bolet at the Curtis Institute of Music. His over 40 publications include orchestrations of major works by Brahms, Liszt, Busoni, Franck, Reger, Rachmaninoff and Respighi, piano transcriptions and cadenzas to several Mozart concertos.

He was the principal guest conductor of the famous Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires from 2011–15, where he conducted 12 major opera productions, including the South American premieres of Enescu’s Oedipe,Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel and Glanert’s Caligula. He was the Music and Artistic Director of the Theatro Municipal in Sao Paulo (2002–2005) and the Theatro National in Brasilia (2007–2010), the principal conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf-Duisburg (1996–2002), the Bremen Opera (1988–1996), as well as the principal guest conductor of the Kassel Opera (1994–1998). He gave his triumphant New York debut in April 2017, conducting Respighi’s La campana sommersa at the New York City Opera.

He has recorded several CDs to great critical acclaim with the London Symphony, Scottish National Orchestra and the Norrlands Symphony Orchestra and of his own piano transcriptions.

www.iralevin.net