Eugene Levinson

Double bassist Eugene Levinson, born in Kiev, Ukraine, is former principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic and the Minnesota Orchestra. He formerly played bass with the Leningrad Philharmonic. Levinson’s solo performances with the New York Philharmonic have included concertos by Koussevitsky (live recording conducted by Zubin Mehta), Tubin (conducted by Kurt Masur), and Mozart’s Per questa bella mano, conducted by Riccardo Muti and broadcast on PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center in 2004. He wrote School of Agility (Carl Fischer), many editions of solo bass music, and a guide to orchestral excerpts for Boosey & Hawkes. He was awarded Distinguished Special Recognition in Orchestral Performance by I.S.B. (2003) and has made solo recordings for the Pro Arte, Melodiya, and Cala labels. He has taught master classes and coached worldwide and has adjudicated for the Koussevitzky and Sperger Double Bass competitions.

Levinson was a guest artist at the Eastern and Carmel Valley, Calif., music festivals. He has been a faculty member at the Aspen and Sarasota Music Festivals since 1979. He was formerly on the faculty at Peabody. Levinson received his doctorate from the Leningrad Conservatory, where he was also a former faculty member. Levinson has been a Juilliard faculty member since 1985 and was co-chair of the double bass department from 1992-2003. He has been a Pre-College faculty member since 1998.