Robert Levin (Norwegian pianist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Levin was a Norwegian
classical pianist
and composer
. Although he was an accomplished solo pianist and composer in his own right, Levin received international acclaim for his work as an accompanist
with several of the world's most celebrated vocal and instrumental performers.
, and grew up in the immigrant neighborhood in Grünerløkka
, the child of David and Marie Levin, Jewish refugees from Lithuania
who had immigrated in 1905. Levin's father supported his family through various means, including peddling sewing notions
and carting coal. In spite of its modest financial means and minority status
, the family maintained a traditional religious household.
Levin caught interest in the piano when he was four and a half years old, at his grandmother's home where there was an instrument that was disused. By the time he was five, he had taught himself well enough for his first public performance, using his fist at times to reach the black keys. He did not receive formal lessons until he was ten, and when he was twelve he was accepted by the pre-eminent music teacher of the time, Nils Larsen. On several occasions, his parents hocked their wedding rings to pay for music lessons.
Levin did his part to support the family by performing at restaurants, bars, and movie theaters during the silent film era. He only finished the first six years of public schooling and spent much of it in fights by his own recollection. He learned at the synagogue for his bar mitzvah, but was mostly occupied with his music. He was also an avid reader of diverse literature.
barriers. He took private lessons with Gustav Lange
and notably Fartein Valen
, being exposed to a wide range of musical traditions and innovations. Levin was the last living silent movie veteran when he died in 1996. He also became an accomplished accordion
player during this time.
Levin had his performance debut on January 26, 1932 to widespread acclaim. (A critic, reflecting anti-Semitic prejudice of the time, speculated that Levin owed his success to his "father's money bag.")
Levin was introduced to several strains of modern music when he was engaged in the orchestra at Theatercafeen
, where the Norwegian exponent of neo-Classical music Sparre Olsen, played. But the orchestra also introduced Levin to jazz
music.
in 1940, Levin continued to perform but was subjected to daily threats and restrictions on the venues and music he could play. Some of his best friends joined the Nazi party, a terrible disappointment for him.
When Nazi authorities in occupied Norway started arresting and deporting Jews
, Levin went under cover with friends and eventually fled to Sweden. The rest of his family arrived in Sweden a few days later, but many of Levin's closest relatives were deported
from Norway and murdered in Auschwitz.
Levin became a proponent of Norwegian music and culture while in exile in Sweden. He wrote the music to several patriotic Norwegian songs, including Kirkenesmarsjen, a march to commemorate the liberation of the Northern Norwegian town of Kirkenes
by Soviet
troops on 25 October 1944.
Sponsored by the Norwegian exile government or Svenska Norgeshjälpen, Levin performed for Norwegian resistance fighters in Sweden along with Herberth Ballarini and his wife Solveig, Randi Heide Steen
, Ernst Glaser
, Gunnar Sønstevold
, Hugo Kramm, Gunnar Reiss Andersen, Axel Kielland
, Lauritz Falk
, Sonja Mjøen
, and others. Levin also sent packages to musical colleagues in Oslo under the pseudonym Banjo-Lasse.
When the family Levin returned to one of the central train stations in Oslo in June 1945, the orchestra Robert had to leave nearly three years earlier awaited him at the platform, performing at their arrival.
, Yehudi Menuhin
, Roberta Peters
, Rita Streich
, Henryk Szeryng
, Ann Brown
, Kim Borg
, Camilla Wicks
, Felicia Weathers
; and a panorama of Norwegian artists that included Ingrid Bjoner
, Knut Skram
, Arve Tellefsen
, Terje Tønnesen, Elise Båtnes, Aase Nordmo Løvberg
, Edith Thallaug, and Ole Bøhn.
He took part in performing tours all around the world. Notably, on May 22 of 1984, he and the American pianist by the same name, Robert Levin
, performed together in Carnegie Hall
in a concert called "From Grieg to Gershwin" with then Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja in attendance. The two, along with other musicians including Ole Bøhn, Knut Skram
, Felicia Weathers
, and Ingrid Bjoner
performed pieces by Edvard Grieg
, Richard Hageman
, Harry Owens
, Aaron Copland
, Celius Dougherty
, Oley Speaks
, George Gershwin
, and others.
He became one of the most respected classical musicians of his time in Norway. He took an active part in music education at all ages, led the Norwegian composers' association (NOPA), and promoted the art of accompaniment.
He was the first rector
of the Norwegian Academy of Music
when it was founded in 1973, where he was also a professor of interpretation. When the academy moved to its new facilities in Majorstuen
in 1989, one of the performance halls was named after Levin.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
classical pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Although he was an accomplished solo pianist and composer in his own right, Levin received international acclaim for his work as an accompanist
Accompaniment
In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
with several of the world's most celebrated vocal and instrumental performers.
Childhood
Levin was born in KristianiaOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, and grew up in the immigrant neighborhood in Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka
Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo in 1858.Grünerløkka was named after Friedrich Grüner who bought a mill in the area from king Christian V of Denmark in 1672 . During the 19th century, Grünerløkka became a working class area...
, the child of David and Marie Levin, Jewish refugees from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
who had immigrated in 1905. Levin's father supported his family through various means, including peddling sewing notions
Notion (accessory)
In sewing and haberdashery, notions is the collective term for a variety of small objects or accessories. Notions can include items that are sewn or otherwise attached to a finished article, such as buttons, snaps, and collar stays, but the term also includes small tools used in sewing, such as...
and carting coal. In spite of its modest financial means and minority status
Jews in Norway
The Jews in Norway are one of the country's smallest ethnic and religious minorities. The largest synagogue is in Oslo. A smaller synagogue in Trondheim is often claimed, erroneously, to be the world's northernmost synagogue...
, the family maintained a traditional religious household.
Levin caught interest in the piano when he was four and a half years old, at his grandmother's home where there was an instrument that was disused. By the time he was five, he had taught himself well enough for his first public performance, using his fist at times to reach the black keys. He did not receive formal lessons until he was ten, and when he was twelve he was accepted by the pre-eminent music teacher of the time, Nils Larsen. On several occasions, his parents hocked their wedding rings to pay for music lessons.
Levin did his part to support the family by performing at restaurants, bars, and movie theaters during the silent film era. He only finished the first six years of public schooling and spent much of it in fights by his own recollection. He learned at the synagogue for his bar mitzvah, but was mostly occupied with his music. He was also an avid reader of diverse literature.
Early professional career
Like many of the classical musicians of pre-World War II era, Levin played at restaurants to support himself. He rose through the unofficial ranks as a teenager, overcoming strong antisemiticAntisemitism in Norway
While parallel to such bigotry elsewhere in Western Europe in Norway, antisemitism in Norway has had a distinct history, reaching its apex during the Holocaust in Norway...
barriers. He took private lessons with Gustav Lange
Gustav Lange
Gustav Lange was a German composer.He was born in Schwerstedt, near Erfurt, Prussian Saxony, in 1830. He produced a large number of works, most of which were light and popular. The piano solos, Edelweiss , and Blumenlied Gustav Lange (13 August 1830 – 20 July 1889) was a German composer.He...
and notably Fartein Valen
Fartein Valen
Olav Fartein Valen was a Norwegian composer and musical theorist, notable for his work within atonal polyphonic music.-Background:...
, being exposed to a wide range of musical traditions and innovations. Levin was the last living silent movie veteran when he died in 1996. He also became an accomplished accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
player during this time.
Levin had his performance debut on January 26, 1932 to widespread acclaim. (A critic, reflecting anti-Semitic prejudice of the time, speculated that Levin owed his success to his "father's money bag.")
Levin was introduced to several strains of modern music when he was engaged in the orchestra at Theatercafeen
Theatercaféen
Theatercaféen is part of the Hotel Continental, in Oslo, Norway. The café opened in 1900, and is situated opposite from the National Theatre, that opened the previous year. The restaurant and the hotel was originally owned by Foss Brewery, but Caroline and Christian Boman Hansen took over the...
, where the Norwegian exponent of neo-Classical music Sparre Olsen, played. But the orchestra also introduced Levin to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music.
War years
Robert and Solveig Levin were married in 1938 and had their first daughter in 1939. After Norway was occupied by Nazi GermanyOccupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
in 1940, Levin continued to perform but was subjected to daily threats and restrictions on the venues and music he could play. Some of his best friends joined the Nazi party, a terrible disappointment for him.
When Nazi authorities in occupied Norway started arresting and deporting Jews
Holocaust in Norway
In the middle of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, there were at least 2,173 Jews in Norway. At least 775 of these were arrested, detained, and/or deported. 742 were murdered in the camps, 23 died as a result of extrajudicial execution, murder, and suicide during the war; bringing the total...
, Levin went under cover with friends and eventually fled to Sweden. The rest of his family arrived in Sweden a few days later, but many of Levin's closest relatives were deported
Jewish deportees from Norway during World War II
During the Nazi occupation of Norway, German authorities deported about 768 individuals of Jewish background to concentration camps outside of Norway. 28 of these survived World War Two.-Deportation:The deportation schedule for the major transports was:...
from Norway and murdered in Auschwitz.
Levin became a proponent of Norwegian music and culture while in exile in Sweden. He wrote the music to several patriotic Norwegian songs, including Kirkenesmarsjen, a march to commemorate the liberation of the Northern Norwegian town of Kirkenes
Kirkenes
is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...
by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
troops on 25 October 1944.
Sponsored by the Norwegian exile government or Svenska Norgeshjälpen, Levin performed for Norwegian resistance fighters in Sweden along with Herberth Ballarini and his wife Solveig, Randi Heide Steen
Randi Heide Steen
Randi Heide Steen was a Norwegian soprano singer. She was born in Kristiania as the daughter of Harald Steen and Signe Heide Steen. She made her operette debut at the theatre Casino in Oslo in 1927, and her concert debut in 1931. She chaired the society Norsk Operasangerforbund from 1958 to...
, Ernst Glaser
Ernst Glaser
Ernst Glaser was born in Hamburg but moved to Norway in 1928 to take up the post as concert master of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra after Max Rostal. The two had studied together under Carl Flesch, and when Rostal was offered a position as a professor in Berlin, he suggested Glaser as his...
, Gunnar Sønstevold
Gunnar Sønstevold
Gunnar Sønstevold was a Norwegian composer. He was born in Elverum, and married composer Maj Sønstevold in 1941. He composed orchestral works, vocal music, chamber music, and music to a number of plays, ballets and films. He headed the Music Department of the Norwegian Broadcasting...
, Hugo Kramm, Gunnar Reiss Andersen, Axel Kielland
Axel Kielland
Axel Kielland was a Norwegian journalist and playwright, born in Stavanger. He was married to actress Sonja Mjøen from 1932 to 1946. He worked for the newspaper Dagbladet from 1927. Among his plays was Hvis et folk vil leve from 1943, on the German occupation of Norway. The play was prohibited by...
, Lauritz Falk
Lauritz Falk
Lauritz Falk was a Swedish actor, film director, singer and painter. He appeared in about 60 roles in films and TV between 1923 and 1989...
, Sonja Mjøen
Sonja Mjøen
Sonja Mjøen was a Norwegian actress. She was born in Christiania, a sister of Fridtjof Mjøen and Jon Lennart Mjøen, and was married to journalist Axel Kielland. She made her stage debut at Trondhjems nationale Scene in 1924, in Hjalmar Christensen's play Din egen herre. Her film debut was in 1927...
, and others. Levin also sent packages to musical colleagues in Oslo under the pseudonym Banjo-Lasse.
When the family Levin returned to one of the central train stations in Oslo in June 1945, the orchestra Robert had to leave nearly three years earlier awaited him at the platform, performing at their arrival.
Post-war career
After the war, Levin decided to concentrate more on a classical career, and after he accompanied Gösta Kjellertz, his career as an accompanist took off. He accompanied such diverse international artists as Elisabeth SchwarzkopfElisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
, Rita Streich
Rita Streich
Rita Streich , was one of the most admired and recorded sopranos of the post-war period.Rita Streich was born in Barnaul in Russia, and moved to Germany with her parents during her childhood. She grew up bilingual, something that was extremely helpful during her later career...
, Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng was a Polish violinist.-Early years:He was born in Żelazowa Wola, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy family....
, Ann Brown
Ann Brown
Ann Leslie Brown was an educational psychologist who developed methods for teaching children to be better learners. Her interest in the human memory brought Brown to focus on active memory strategies that would help enhance human memory and developmental differences in memory tasks...
, Kim Borg
Kim Borg
Kim Borg was a Finnish bass, teacher and composer. He had wide-ranging, resonant, warm voice.-Biography:Kim Borg was born in Helsinki...
, Camilla Wicks
Camilla Wicks
Camilla Wicks is an American violinist and one of the first female violinists to establish a major international career...
, Felicia Weathers
Felicia Weathers
Felicia Weathers is a well known internationally opera and concert singer . Born in St. Louis, Missouri .Made appearances in Zurich , Vienna , Munich, Berlin, Hamburg , Paris , Oslo , Kopenhagen , Stockholm , Covent Garden in London , Mailänder Scala and Metropolitan Opera House, New York...
; and a panorama of Norwegian artists that included Ingrid Bjoner
Ingrid Bjoner
Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint was a Norwegian soprano who had a prolific international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss...
, Knut Skram
Knut Skram
Knut Skram is a Norwegian baritone. Considered one of the most important Norwegian opera singers of his generation, his career has spanned more than four decades.-Life and career:...
, Arve Tellefsen
Arve Tellefsen
Arve Tellefsen is a Norwegian violinist.He was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. When he was 6 years old, he began playing the violin in 'Trondheims musikkskole'...
, Terje Tønnesen, Elise Båtnes, Aase Nordmo Løvberg
Aase Nordmo Løvberg
Aase Nordmo Løvberg is a Norwegian opera singer. She belongs among the 20th century's foremost Nordic singers. For many years she sang with Jussi Björling at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and she has sung under renowned conductors such as Herbert von Karajan and Georg Solti.Løvberg made her debut...
, Edith Thallaug, and Ole Bøhn.
He took part in performing tours all around the world. Notably, on May 22 of 1984, he and the American pianist by the same name, Robert Levin
Robert D. Levin
Robert D. Levin is a classical performer, musicologist, and composer, and is the Artistic Director of the Sarasota Music Festival.-Education:...
, performed together in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in a concert called "From Grieg to Gershwin" with then Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja in attendance. The two, along with other musicians including Ole Bøhn, Knut Skram
Knut Skram
Knut Skram is a Norwegian baritone. Considered one of the most important Norwegian opera singers of his generation, his career has spanned more than four decades.-Life and career:...
, Felicia Weathers
Felicia Weathers
Felicia Weathers is a well known internationally opera and concert singer . Born in St. Louis, Missouri .Made appearances in Zurich , Vienna , Munich, Berlin, Hamburg , Paris , Oslo , Kopenhagen , Stockholm , Covent Garden in London , Mailänder Scala and Metropolitan Opera House, New York...
, and Ingrid Bjoner
Ingrid Bjoner
Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint was a Norwegian soprano who had a prolific international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss...
performed pieces by Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
, Richard Hageman
Richard Hageman
Richard Hageman was a Dutch-born American conductor, pianist, composer, and actor.- Biography :...
, Harry Owens
Harry Owens
Harry Owens was an American composer, bandleader and songwriter.-Biography:Harry Robert Owens was born April 18, 1902, in O'Neill, Nebraska. He learned how to play a cornet in a small band on an Indian reservation in Montana.-Early years:He worked the vaudeville circuit by age 14. Owens studied...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Celius Dougherty
Celius Dougherty
Celius Dougherty was an American pianist and composer of art songs and other music.-Biography:...
, Oley Speaks
Oley Speaks
Oley Speaks was an accomplished composer and songwriter who was born in Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio...
, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, and others.
He became one of the most respected classical musicians of his time in Norway. He took an active part in music education at all ages, led the Norwegian composers' association (NOPA), and promoted the art of accompaniment.
He was the first rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Norwegian Academy of Music
Norwegian Academy of Music
The Norwegian Academy of Music is a music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the country's highest level of music education. As a university college, it offers both undergraduate and postgraduate...
when it was founded in 1973, where he was also a professor of interpretation. When the academy moved to its new facilities in Majorstuen
Majorstuen
Majorstuen is a neighbourhood in the Frogner borough in the western part of Oslo, Norway.Majorstuen is known for its vibrant downtown, especially its shopping area. The area has several elegant townhouses circa 1880-1890. The area is also an important public transport junction in Oslo, where all...
in 1989, one of the performance halls was named after Levin.