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Howard Levy

Grammy-Winning Composer and Guest Artist

www.levyland.com

Program offerings
The Harmonica Intensive

 

“A revelation; there are times when it is hard to believe he is playing only a harmonica, for he has the expressive range and depth of a saxophonist.”
—The London Observer

 

Universally acknowledged as the world’s most advanced harmonica player, Howard is equally at home in jazz, pop, rock, world music, Latin, classical, folk, blues and country. Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune praised his “brilliant improvisation,” adding “Levy unleashed more ideas in his opening solo than many musicians do in an entire set.” His distinctive compositions have been commissioned by symphonies, chamber groups, dance companies, theater groups and movie productions. The winner of a Grammy Award in 1997 for Pop Music Instrumental, he composed the first concerto for diatonic harmonica in 2000, performed many times on The Tonight Show, A Prairie Home Companion, and has been featured as a leader and sideman on well over 200 recordings. His harmonica can be heard on the soundtracks of "A Family Thing," "Striptease," and "A Time to Kill," as well as on recordings by Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Kenny Loggins, Dolly Parton, Paquito D'Rivera, and many others. Howard currently tours with pianist Anthony Molinaro, is music director for the Latin/Jazz band Chévere, has a recording out with guitarist Paul Sprawl, and continues to tour with World Jazz group Trio Globo. He recently released 3 CDs on his own label, Balkan Samba Records, available at www.balkansamba.com, and was nominated for an award in 2006 by the Jazz Journalists Association. Read a performance review.

 

 

Chamber Music and Orchestral Offerings

Harmonia Mundi RealAudio excerpt
Suite for Harmonica and Chamber Ensemble
In 1994, The Rembrandt Chamber Players of Chicago commissioned Howard to write a piece for harmonica and their group (violin, viola, cello, flute, and oboe).  The Suite was premiered in May 1995. This piece seeks to utilize all the properties of the harmonica - percussive, lyrical, virtuosic, bluesy - and integrate them into a piece for a classically- oriented chamber group.  The title is a somewhat ironic comment on the complex harmony that can exist between cultures and the political realities that throw so many people into conflict with one another.  Stylistically, the music reflects Howard’s many musical interests.

The third movement begins with the harmonica playing a series of rapid ostinatos, interupted by comments from the strings.  Then the harmonica plays more ostinatos that serve as beds for ensemble passages.  The piece swings into high gear for the conclusion, a series of exciting fiddle tune-style melodies reminiscent of Appalachian, Eastern European, Japanese, and Balinese music, all mixed together with a Middle-Eastern belly dance solo section.  It ends with a Blues shuffle.  Howard writes of Harmonia Mundi:  “The third movement reflects my excitement over the fact that so many musical genres can go together creating a rich blend of distinct and vibrant parts.”

Bachanalia
Arrangements of Bach pieces for harmonica and various chamber ensembles

In the summer of 2000, Howard was asked to be music director of Bachanalia, the opening night concert of The Ravinia Festival north of Chicago.  For that night, he performed the Bach E minor Flute Sonata on harmonica with harpsichordist Steven Alltop, and arranged and performed the Keyboard Partita #5 in B-flat major on harmonica with trombonist Michael Mulcahy from the Chicago Symphony, Steven Alltop, and tap dancer Lane Alexander.

“The evening’s tour de force arrived with a glorious tap dance by Lane Alexander, his clicks and clacks accompanied by Levy’s sublime trio.  To hear Levy’s extraordinarily refined harmonica lines was pleasure enough, but to behold Alexander’s graceful accompanying dances was to witness one great art form inspiring another.” - Chicago Tribune

For the finale, Howard arranged Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for all the artists – harmonica, a banjo player, 2 Chinese musicians, a brass quintet, an 8-voice choir, and an Argentinean bandoneon player.

Piazzola Tangos RealAudio excerpt

In the summer of ‘98 at Ravinia, Howard performed Astor Piazzola’s 5 Tango Sensations (originally written for bandoneon) on harmonica with Musica Anima and  performed it again in ‘99 with Rembrandt at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.   He has also performed Two Tangos with orchestra.

Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica and Orchestra mp3 excerpt

In 2000, The Illinois Philharmonic and its music director, Carmon DeLeone, asked Howard to perform a harmonica concerto for the 2001 Season.  Howard writes of the event, “I told them that all existing concertos were composed for Chromatic Harmonica, and asked if they would be interested in having me compose one for my instrument, the diatonic.”  The result was Howard’s first orchestral composition, premiered Feb. 4, 2001.  Howard has since performed it many times around the world to standing ovations. 

Additional Orchestral Offerings

 

 

Howard Levy


Children's Programming - The Unlikely History of the Harmonica
Howard Levy will take you on a journey through the long and unlikely history of the harmonica, from its beginnings in the Far East, through its invention as a European instrument in 19th century Bavaria, to its eventual role as the world's premier blues instrument, and into areas including jazz, Middle Eastern, and Indian music. Accompanying himself on piano, Mr. Levy weaves a fascinating tale of the unlikely evolution of the humble harmonica into an instrument capable of playing just about any type of music. back to top