Eugene Levinson is the former principal double bassist of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and teaches at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

Career

According to the New Method for

Double Bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(Carl Fischer edition), Levinson, who was born in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, began to study music at the age of nine. He graduated from the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

, later receiving a doctoral degree from this institution. At the age of twenty-nine, he was the youngest member ever to be appointed to the Leningrad Conservatory's faculty. In

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, he also became a member of the

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (russian: Симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a Russian orchestra based ...

, where he played for almost sixteen years, and was Principal Bass of the Leningrad Chamber Orchestra for thirteen years. Levinson traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1977, and began a short tenure as principal Bass of the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

soon after his arrival. While living in the States, he served on the faculty of both the Sarasota Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival, as well as the Indiana University Summer School. He joined the bass faculty of

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in 1985, and was appointed Principal Bass of the

in May of that year. In 2003, Levinson was given the Special Recognition Award in Orchestral Performance from the

International Society of Bassists The International Society of Bassists (ISB) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization for anybody who enjoys the double bass. The society was founded in 1967 by Gary Karr as the International Institute for String Bass (IISB). After a two-year hiat ...

for his "extraordinary skills and contribution to the worldwide community of bassists".

Discography

Studio albums

The School of Agility

The School of Agility is a book by Eugene Levinson (also published by Carl Fischer) which concentrates on improving vital fingering technique for bass players of all levels. His approach focuses on improving rhythm, intonation and fingerboard agility via a variety of fingerings. The book includes: -Fingerings designed to allow the individual bassist to find those most suitable to their style and level of playing. -Fingerings appropriate to certain playing situations -Fingerings concerned with the shaping of phrases by facilitating smoother transitions. -Techniques to help produce a clean and clear sound.

References

External links

Video interview with Eugene Levinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levinson, Eugene Soviet classical double-bassists Soviet Jews Soviet emigrants to the United States American classical double-bassists Male double-bassists Aspen Music Festival and School faculty Juilliard School faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians