The Leventritt Competition was a highly prestigious international competition for classical pianists and violinists. It was founded in 1939 by the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation Inc. of
Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Philipstown, New York, Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Ne ...
, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventritt. The Leventritt Competition has now been discontinued.
The Leventritt award was sparingly given, and there was no award presented if the judges felt the required standard was not achieved.
Award winners
* 1940:
Sidney Foster, piano
* 1941:
Erno Valasek, violin; New York Times, October 11, 1941, Amusement Section; The New York Times, February 16,1942; New York Times
* 1943:
Eugene Istomin, piano
* 1945:
Louise Meiszner, piano
* 1946:
David Nadien, violin
* 1947:
Alexis Weissenberg, piano
* 1948: Jean Graham, piano
* 1949:
Gary Graffman, piano
* 1954:
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...
, piano
* 1955:
Betty-Jean Hagen, violin
* 1957:
Anton Kuerti, piano
* 1958:
Arnold Steinhardt, violin
* 1959:
Malcolm Frager, piano
* 1962:
Michel Block, piano
* 1964:
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...
, violin
* 1965:
Tong-Il Han, piano
* 1967:
Kyung-wha Chung, violin and
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman (; born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.
Life and career
Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musica ...
, violin (joint recipients)
* 1969:
Joseph Kalichstein, piano
* 1976: No first prize awarded
* 1978: Mitchell Stern, violin
* 1981:
Cecile Licad, piano
References
Bibliography
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{{Classical music awards
*
1939 establishments in New York (state)
Awards established in 1939
Classical music awards
Piano competitions in the United States
Recurring events established in 1939
Violin competitions
Music festivals established in 1939