The medal will be awarded to Ms. Hewitt in recognition of her international standing and contribution to Wigmore Hall over the past 35 years
Pianist Angela Hewitt is set to be awarded the Wigmore Medal in a ceremony on 2 June 2020. The medal will be presented immediately after the final concert of her Bach Odyssey – a four-season survey of the composer’s complete keyboard works, across 12 concerts, which began in 2016. Her next performance of the Odyssey will be at Wigmore Hall on 28 March. You can find out more information about this event here.
The Canadian pianist has given over 80 performances at Wigmore Hall since her debut back in 1985. It has been a mainstay venue throughout her career. The Wigmore Medal will be awarded to Hewitt in the same year that she receives the City of Leipzig Bach Medal – the first woman and only the second pianist to receive the award.
Whilst she is known to many principally for her celebrated interpretations of Bach, her performances at Wigmore Hall have also included focuses on Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Chabrier, Ravel, Messiaen and commissions from leading contemporary composers.
Hear what she has to say about Wigmore Hall below.
On her award, she comments, "Thank you, Wigmore Hall and director John Gilhooly, for awarding me this most prestigious honour, and adding my name to such an illustrious list of former winners. There is no other recital hall stage in the world that feels more like “home” than does Wigmore, and my performances there over the past 35 years have been the backbone of my career, always giving me the inspiration to go on.
“I vividly remember my debut there in January 1985, when I had only just come to live in London and knew hardly anybody. It took me fifteen years of hard work (largely doing the concert marketing myself along with concert manager Jane Gray) to get to the point where it was sold out in advance. It was worth every leaflet, every stamp and every envelope!"
Past recipients of the Wigmore Medal include Iestyn Davies, Steven Isserlis, Sir András Schiff, Thomas Quasthoff, Christian Gerhaher, Menahem Pressler, the Takács String Quartet and Dame Felicity Lott.
Photo credit: Keith Saunders.