Bruce Levingston

Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words simply defy ordinary description. Refined and nuanced, they constitute some of the composer’s finest and best-known works. For nearly two hundred years, they were regarded as charming relics, select romantic gems performed in small concert halls and salons. While their subtle, ornamental qualities certainly shine brightest in more intimate settings, closer inspection reveals an unexpected depth and complexity to these miniature masterpieces. Their interpretive and technical demands are considerable, requiring sensitivity to voicing, pedaling and dynamic control. Meant to enchant rather than dazzle, they evoke myriad dreams revealing some of the composer’s innermost reflections. Like private entries in a musical diary, they offer a rare glimpse into this reserved but passionate artist’s thoughts.

Pianist Bruce Levingston has had a long and celebrated association with Philip Glass and his music. In 2004, the composer wrote his musical tribute to the painter Chuck Close especially for Levingston who premiered the work at New York City's Lincoln Center. The following year, Glass joined Levingston in the same venue for a series of piano duos in a concert that also featured Levingston's longtime friend and Chelsea Hotel neighbor actor Ethan Hawke.

Conceived and recorded over the past 2.5 years by Sono Luminus, Imagine Christmas is the perfect album for your holiday celebrations, evoking a very deep sense of nostalgia while remaining wonderfully modern. Includes: Frosty the Snowman - Ensemble Galilei, December: Christmas - Bruce Levingston, White Christmas - Irina Muresanu & Matei Varga, Holly Jolly Christmas - Jasper String Quartet, Walking in the Air - Ronn McFarlane, Twas The Night Before Christmas - Cory Hills, Santa Claus Is Comin to Town - Kathryn Bates, Christmas Time Is Here - Caleb Nei, Joy to the World - Cuarteto Latinoamericano & Lydia Lewis, Good King Wenceslas - Stewart Goodyear, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Skylark Vocal Ensemble and Silent Night.