Maria Lettberg (born

October 28 Events Pre-1600 * 97 – Roman emperor Nerva is forced by the Praetorian Guard to adopt general Marcus Ulpius Trajanus as his heir and successor. * 306 – Maxentius is proclaimed Roman emperor. * 312 – Constantine I defe ...

, 1970 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

) is a Swedish pianist, resident in Berlin.

Biography and artistic work

Lettberg is the daughter of a university professor of Russian literature and a mathematician. When she was seven, Maria's talent was recognised and fostered. She gave her graduate recital at the

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

. Following that, she pursued her studies further in Stockholm (

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

), in Bloomington (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

) and in Helsinki (

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

). Her most important teachers were Tatyana Zagorovskaja,

Andrei Gavrilov Andrei Gavrilov (in Russian Андрей Гаврилов; born September 21, 1955) is a Swiss pianist of Russian background. Early life and music career Andrei Gavrilov was born into a family of artists in Moscow. His father was Vladimir Gav ...

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he perform ...

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler ( he, מנחם פרסלר; born 16 December 1923) is a German-born Israeli-American pianist. Pressler is Jewish. Following Kristallnacht, he and his immediate family fled Nazi Germany in 1939,

, Emanuel Krasovsky,

Roland Pöntinen Roland Peter Pöntinen (born 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish pianist and composer. Pöntinen was born to an Ingrian Finnish father and Swedish mother. He studied at the Adolf Fredrik's Music School and the Royal Swedish Academy of Musi ...

and

Matti Raekallio Matti Juhani Raekallio (born 14 October 1954 in Helsinki) is a Finnish pianist. He has performed in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, having debuted at the Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. A professor at the Swedish Royal College of Music (1994–1995), H ...

. Maria Lettberg's concert repertoire focuses on

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Chopin and

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

, but, also

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

, Schnittke and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. Besides these composers, she also regularly plays the work of less well-known ones, in particular, those of Scandinavian and Russian origin. Ms. Lettberg has worked with

Deutschlandradio Deutschlandradio (DLR) (''Radio Germany'') is a national German public radio broadcaster. History ''Deutschlandfunk'' was originally a West German news radio targeting listeners within West Germany as well as in neighbouring countries, ''Deutsc ...

for many years.

Nomination for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards

Maria Lettberg has been nominated for the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

– category
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
for her performance of

Zara Levina Zara Aleksandrovna Levina (russian: Зара Александровна Левина; born February 5 ( O.S. January 25), 1906, in Simferopol, Russian Empire – June 27, 1976, in Moscow) was a Soviet pianist and composer. She was from a Jewish fam ...

's two piano concertos with the

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has also ...

Work on Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin

Maria Lettberg is an interpreter of

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

. In 2007, she recorded Scriabin's solo piano work completely on eight CDs. This was followed in 2012 by the recording of "Opus Posthum" – the early piano works of Alexander Scriabin which are not numbered and the compositions of Scriabin's son Julian. Inspired by Scriabin's ideas, Maria Lettberg initiated and led two projects under the title of " Mysterium" (with Kaisa Salmi, Finland, and Andrea Schmidt, Germany). In both productions, a synaesthetic experience of art was achieved by the linking of musical and visual aspects. In 2008 Maria Lettberg did her PhD at the Sibelius Academy. The subject of her PhD dissertation was "An Historical Overview of Tendencies in the Interpretation of Alexander Scriabin’s piano sonata Nr. 10. - a comparative pianistic analysis".

Recordings

* 2007:

: The Solo Piano Works, Complete Recording 8 CD-Box + DVD „ Mysterium – The Multimedia Project“(Deutschlandradio Kultur/Capriccio) * 2008:

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

: The Piano Concertos Nos. 1–3. Ewa Kupiec and Maria Lettberg, Rundfunk - Sinfonieorchester Berlin /

Frank Strobel Frank Strobel (born in 1966 in Munich) is a German conductor known for premieres and performances of works by composers Sergei Prokofiev, Franz Schreker and Siegfried Wagner. He is authorized arranger and editor of works by the composer Alfred ...

. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Phoenix Edition) * 2011:

Erkki Melartin Erkki Gustaf Melartin (7 February 1875, Käkisalmi – 14 February 1937, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. Melartin is generally considered to be one of Finland's most signif ...

: The Solo Piano Works, 2 CD-Set (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Crystal Classics) * 2011:

: Chamber Concerto (Piano Concerto No.2), Trio for piano, violin and cello, Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello;

/Frank Strobel, Petersen Quartet. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Crystal Classics) * 2012: „Opus Posthum“: Alexander und Julian Scriabin, Early Piano Works (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Es-Dur Hamburg) * 2013: „ The Enchanted Garden“: Piano transcriptions of Russian stage works,

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Es-Dur Hamburg) * 2015: „ Poème de l'extase“: Works of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Manfred Kelkel Manfred Kelkel (15 January 1929 – 18 April 1999) was a 20th-century French musicologist and composer of contemporary music. A pupil of Darius Milhaud at the Conservatoire de Paris, he got interested in the music of Russian composer Alexander Scri ...

and Harald Banter. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Es-Dur Hamburg) * 2017:

: The Piano Concertos Nos. 1–2. Maria Lettberg, Rundfunk - Sinfonieorchester Berlin/

Ariane Matiakh Ariane Matiakh (born 1980) is a French conductor. Biography The daughter of two opera singers, Matiakh obtained prizes in piano, chamber music, conducting at the ''Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Reims'' and piano accompaniment at th ...

. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Capriccio) * 2019:

: Piano & Chamber music. Piano Sonatas; Violin Sonata; Poem for viola and piano; Canzonetta for cello and piano; "Hebrew Rhapsody" for piano for four hands. Maria Lettberg, Yury Revich, Gernot Adrion, Ringela Riemke, Katia Tchemberdji. (Deutschlandradio Kultur/Capriccio)

Publications

* Lettberg, Maria: "Alfred Schnittke's Piano Trio: Learning and Performing", in: ''The Practice of Practising'' (Orpheus Research Centre in Music Series), Leuven University Press, 2011. * Lettberg, Maria: "Alexander Skrjabin som pianist. Tekniska aspekter och estetiska principer". ''Finaali, Journal of Musical Performance and Research'', Sibelius Akademie, 2004. * Lettberg, Maria: Tendenser inom interpretationer av Alexander Skrjabins pianosonat nr 10: En jämförande pianistisk analys. (Tendencies within Interpretations of Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 10: A Comparative Pianistic Analysis), Sibelius Akatemia, DokMus-tohtorikoulu, EST numero 20, 2012. http://ethesis.siba.fi/showrecord.php?ID=371162.

Sources / Documentation

* '' The Penguin Guide to the 1000 Finest Classical Recordings: The Must-Have CDs and DVDs,'' IVAN MARCH (Hrsg.), London 2011 (Hardback): John Sheppard: Article „Scriabin, Alexander“, S.307. * Maria Lettberg: formidable.

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, BRYCE MORRISON (5/2008, Editor Choice, S. 92) * "Gruß vom Chamäleon, ganz ohne Starrummel ist die Pianistin Maria Lettberg erfolgreich".

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

, Beilage „Der Kultur Spiegel“, JOHANNES SALTZWEDEL (4/2011, S. 36) * "Ein Ausdruckswunder".

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

, MIRKO WEBER (Nr. 23/11 vom 1. Juni 2011) * "Große Taten. Maria Lettberg widmet sich Skrjabins Klavierwerk",

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

, WOLFGANG SCHREIBER (22. Dezember 2008) * "Porträt: Anwältin des Besonderen - MARIA LETTBERG". ''Piano News'', HELMUT PETERS (6/2012 S. 40-42) * "Maria Lettbergs Klavierkonzert abseits des Wohlgefälligen".

Hamburger Abendblatt The ''Hamburger Abendblatt'' (English: ''Hamburg Evening Newspaper'') is a German daily newspaper in Hamburg. The paper focuses on news in Hamburg and area, and produces regional supplements with news from Norderstedt, Ahrensburg, Harburg, and ...

, TOM SCHULZ (14. September 2012) * "Klangmagische Stimmungen, Maria Lettbergs Skrjabin-Abend in der Oetkerhalle". ''Neue Westfälische'' (17. September 2008) * "Lettbergs Spiel: wie ein zarter Windhauch, Schwedische Pianistin sorgte bei den „Mittelrhein Musik Momenten“ für eine echte Sternstunde". ''Rhein-Zeitung'', CHRISTIANE HAUSDING (3. August 2004) * „Stämningbilder“. '', Gregor Willmes (6/2011, S. 79)

External links

Official website

Grammy Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lettberg, Maria Swedish pianists Women classical pianists Swedish women pianists 1970 births Living people 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century women pianists