鋼琴家│保羅‧路易斯(Paul Lewis)
“在眾多貝多芬奏鳴曲錄音中，不乏大師與名家們的得獎之作，但若要我推薦一套全集，保羅‧路易斯卓越的錄音將是我的選擇。”
~紐約時報 權威樂評安東尼‧湯馬西尼(Anthony Tommasini)
身為工人之子，保羅‧路易斯(Paul Lewis)來自於完全沒有音樂相關背景的普通家庭，14歲才開始接受正規鋼琴教育。憑藉著自己的音樂天分，拜在鋼琴權威大師布蘭德爾門下後開始大放異彩，陸續榮獲多項國際大賽獎項，1994年倫敦世界鋼琴大賽第二獎、2003年皇家愛樂協會年度演奏家及南岸藝術中心古典音樂大獎，並獲得Dudley鋼琴大 賽首獎、皇家海外聯盟比賽…等，1999年BBC評選為最受歡迎的英倫新生代鋼琴家、2000年(28歲)即獲聘為英國皇家音樂院教授、2009年獲英國 南安普敦大學榮譽博士，是目前國際最知名的鋼琴家之一！
往後保羅‧路易斯便開始活躍於世界各大音樂廳舞臺與著名音樂節等等，也與眾多知名樂團包括芝加哥交響、萊比錫布商大廈管絃樂團、波士頓交響、維也納愛樂、巴伐利亞廣播交響、紐約愛樂等一流樂團，並與指揮名家海汀克、柯林戴維斯爵士、杜南伊、沙瓦利許、馬克拉斯爵士等人同臺演出。2005-2007保羅‧路易斯更於歐美展開貝多芬全套三十二首奏鳴曲巡演計畫，同時他也完成了三十二首奏鳴曲的唱片錄製，並獲得國際間一片好評。
承繼當世樂壇「貝多芬與舒伯特權威大師」鋼琴家布蘭德爾的真傳，保羅‧路易斯成為目前國際樂壇新一代的「貝多芬與舒伯特的最佳詮釋者」！不到40歲，即成為少數完成灌錄有鍵盤作品「新約聖經」之稱的「貝多芬32首鋼琴奏鳴曲」及「貝多芬五首鋼琴協奏曲」全集唱片的中生代鋼琴家，獲得國際樂評一致推崇，囊括留聲機年度最佳唱片、法國音叉、德國迴聲、荷蘭愛迪生等唱片大獎， 每張專輯都是留聲機雜誌每月之選！2010年7~8月間更創下在BBC逍遙音樂季連續演出貝多芬五首鋼琴協奏曲的歷史紀錄(含BBC電視台錄影轉播)，聲勢如日中天，更被譽為布蘭德爾的傳人！
同時也是舒伯特專家的保羅‧路易斯，傳承自布蘭德爾，又兼具個人特色的演繹每每令人陶醉不已，美國紐約時報Anthony Tommasini稱讚他的舒伯特(即興曲)迷人…又引人入勝！路易斯曾出版過多張舒伯特經典鍵盤作品大碟，2002年更與「柴可夫斯基大賽」金牌得主貝瑞佐夫斯基(B. Berezovsky)、盧岡斯基(N. Lugansky)等名家同時受邀於「拉羅克‧昂迪榮國際鋼琴音樂節」，演出全場舒伯特作品(並發行DVD)，並與男高音Mark Padmore合作錄製舒伯特聯篇歌曲，完全掌握舒伯特特有的音樂歌唱性。2013-14樂季保羅˙路易斯不僅再度受邀於BBC逍遙音樂節和指揮家哈丁與馬勒室內樂團演出外，也將與指揮名家杜南伊、尼爾森等人同台，並與波士頓交響、紐約愛樂、芝加哥交響、倫敦交響、瑞典廣播交響樂團等樂團演出布拉姆斯與莫札特等人的協奏曲作品。
路易斯在與國際知名鋼琴家布蘭德爾(A.Brendel)學習前，曾於英國契天音樂學院師事瑞薩˙巴克斯特(Ryszard Bakst)、於市政廳音樂與戲劇學院師事喬安˙哈維(Joan Havil)。路易斯同時也擔任英國白金漢郡仲夏音樂節的藝術總監。
Paul Lewis, pianist
"There are many prized recordings of the Beethoven sonatas from past masters and current artists. But if I had to recommend a single complete set, I would suggest Mr. Lewis’s distinguished recordings." Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
"One of the most highly prized recording marathons of recent years.... An unmissable benchmark." Gramophone
Paul Lewis is internationally recognised as one of the leading pianists of his generation. His many awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award, the South Bank Show Classical Music Award, the Diapason d’or de l’annee, two successive Edison awards, the 25th Premio Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, the "Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik", a Limelight Award in Australia, and three Gramophone awards, including Record of the Year in 2008. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Southampton. His concert performances and Harmonia Mundi recordings of the complete Beethoven Sonatas, Concertos and the Diabelli Variations have earned him unanimous acclaim from all over the world, culminating in 2010 with the honour of becoming the first pianist in the history of the BBC Proms to perform all five Beethoven Concertos in a single Proms season.
Paul Lewis is a guest at many prestigious venues and festivals including the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Lucerne Piano Festival, La Roque d’Antheron, Rheingau, and London’s Wigmore Hall where he has appeared on more than fifty occasions. He has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Charles Mackerras, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Daniel Harding, Sir Andrew Davis, Andris Nelsons, Emmanuel Krivine, and Armin Jordan.
Recent and forthcoming highlights include concerto performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic, Phiharmonia, New Japan Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Boston Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Tonhalle Orchestra, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Solo recitals have taken him to such major venues as London's Royal Festival Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Toppan Hall Tokyo, Orchestra Hall Chicago, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, KKL Luzern, Tonhalle Zurich, Festspielhaus Baden Baden, and the Auditorio Nacional Madrid.
At the beginning of 2011, Paul Lewis embarked upon a two year project to perform all the mature piano works from the last six years of Schubert's life. This series is being presented in London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Melbourne, Rotterdam, Bologna, Florence, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, and at other major venues worldwide. Future recording plans for Harmonia Mundi include two double CDs of Schubert solo works, Mozart concertos with Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding, and solo works by Schumann and Mussorgsky.
Paul Lewis studied with Ryszard Bakst at Chethams School of Music and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel. Along with his wife the Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis, he is artistic director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire, UK.
