Angela Hewitt

Pianist Angela Hewitt is renowned for her performances of music by J.S. Bach, whose complete keyboard works she has recorded and widely toured. Her contribution to Bach's legacy was recognized in 2020, when she became the first female recipient of the City of Leipzig’s Bach Medal, a prestigious award from the composer's adopted hometown. Born in Ottawa in 1958, Hewitt grew up with music; her father was a cathedral organist and her mother, a music teacher. As a child, Hewitt showed promise as a dancer but eventually chose to focus on music. She studied at the University of Ottawa before following her mentor, Jean-Paul Sevilla, to Paris for seven years before moving to London in 1985, where she has been based ever since. In addition to her reputation as a Bach expert, Hewitt has a wide-ranging repertoire and has recorded the complete works of Ravel, the Beethoven sonatas, and music by Schumann, Scarlatti, and Debussy, among others. Most of these albums feature Hewitt's bespoke Fazioli piano, described by the pianist as her “best friend,” which made headlines worldwide when it was irreversibly damaged in a 2020 move.