Gershwin in Vienna
Images: AI-generated image: Artistic visualization of George Gershwin in Vienna & De-Da-Productions
February 18 | 6:30 PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE
Join us for an evening at the piano with conductor and pianist Levi Hammer, exploring musical connections between American modernism and Vienna’s revolutionary composers.
About the Concert
Gershwin in Vienna is a solo piano program that traces the fascinating musical and historical links between George Gershwin and the composers of the Second Viennese School: Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, the Austrian pioneers of musical modernism. The program brings American popular idioms into dialogue with the radical innovations that emerged from early 20th-century Vienna, revealing unexpected resonances across style, geography, and tradition. More than a historical exploration, the evening also serves as a musical autobiography of Levi Hammer, uniting his American roots with his ongoing European artistic journey. At the piano, Hammer creates a bridge between worlds. Between jazz-inflected American soundscapes and the rigorous, expressive language shaped in Vienna.
About the Artist
Levi Hammer is an internationally active conductor and pianist known for his exceptional range and versatility. He received the American Austrian Foundation’s Young Conductors Fellowship in 2010, which enabled him to spend six weeks in Salzburg during the world-famous Salzburg Festival, where he attended rehearsals of opera, symphonies, and chamber music. He also met many of the conductors and musicians performing in Salzburg during his stay, which has benefitted his career. He has conducted orchestras throughout the United States and Europe and brings extensive operatic experience, with a repertoire of more than 70 operas. He has also prepared acclaimed productions for major conductors including Lorin Maazel, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, and Gustavo Dudamel. As a pianist, Hammer performs as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, and art song collaborator. His repertoire spans from Baroque music to contemporary works and includes frequent performances of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Aaron Copland’s complete piano music. Through Gershwin in Vienna, Hammer unites American and Austrian musical traditions in a thoughtful and highly individual program.