Pianist Angela Hewitt honoured with Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance

The Ontario Arts Council is delighted to announce that pianist Angela Hewitt is the recipient of the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance. This award is presented biennially to an outstanding Canadian performer in the field of classical music, recognizing talent and commitment to Canadian music.

Hewitt will receive the award on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at the opening night of Hewitt Plays Bach & Mozart – her series with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

About Angela Hewitt

• Angela Hewitt is one of the world’s leading pianists, frequently performing solo and with major orchestras across the globe. She is particularly renowned for her interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach, and is considered one of the composer’s foremost interpreters of our time.
• Hewitt is also distinguished as a recording artist. Her award-winning cycle for Hyperion Records of all the major keyboard works of Bach has been described as “one of the record glories of our age” (The Sunday Times).
• Along with performing a vast amount of the standard repertoire, Hewitt has commissioned many new works. These include a series of short pieces inspired by Bach, published in the collection Angela Hewitt’s Bach Book (along with many of her own Bach transcriptions).

Angela Hewitt. Photo: Bernd Eberle

• Hewitt is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and received a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award as part of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in 2018. Among her many other honours, she has been inducted into Gramophone magazine’s Hall of Fame, and in 2020, was awarded the prestigious City of Leipzig Bach Medal.
• A strong believer in music education, Hewitt offers frequent masterclasses. When all concert activity abruptly stopped in spring 2020 due to the pandemic, Angela went online to share daily offerings of short pieces – many of which form the basis of teaching material.
• Hewitt’s musicianship has also inspired many Canadian composers. Steven Gellman, Gary Kulesha, David McIntyre, Patrick Cardy and Oskar Morawetz himself have all written pieces dedicated to her.

Quotes

“We are thrilled to choose Angela Hewitt as laureate for this award,” stated the jurors, who were unanimous in their selection. “She impressively balances a profound understanding of classical music with a commitment to new work, including many commissions. We also commend her engagement with young people – internationally and virtually, through her masterclasses; and as an ambassador for the Orkidstra music education program in her hometown of Ottawa.”

Angela Hewitt. Photo: Richard Termine

About the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance

• Established in 2007, this award honours the legacy of Oskar Morawetz – one of Canada's leading composers of contemporary music, whose career spanned more than 50 years. Learn more about Dr. Morawetz.
• Previous winners include operatic baritone Russell Braun (2019); conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2017) and Bramwell Tovey (2015) and mezzo-soprano Judith Forst (2013). Full list of laureates.
• The Ontario Arts Council administers the jury process for the Oskar Morawetz Award. This year’s jury consisted of Nicolas Ellis (Montréal, Que.), Sandra Horst (Toronto, Ont.) and Robert Uchida (Edmonton, Alta.).

Angela Hewitt with Oskar Morawetz in 1992