Bruce Levingston is an acclaimed American concert pianist and recording artist. Renowned for his interpretations of classical and contemporary music and innovative programming, critics praise Levingston’s performances for their sensitivity, subtlety, and profound depth. Levingston has appeared in many important venues throughout the world including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Boston Opera House, Teatro Fraschini, Teatro del Lago and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. The New York Times has praised his “mastery of color and nuance” and the New Yorker has called him “a force for new music.”

Levingston’s solo recordings have received notable accolades. His album Heavy Sleep was named one of the “Best Classical Recordings of the Year” by The New York Times. Gramophone declared his playing “masterly” and Classics Today lauded his “transcendent virtuosity.” The Arts Desk called his playing “sublime” and the American Record Guide wrote “Levingston is a pianist’s pianist” praising his “stunning and illuminating performances.” With over 25 million plays on Spotify and Apple Music, Levingston is one of today’s most streamed classical artists.

In 2001, Levingston founded Premiere Commission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the work of living composers. He has facilitated the creation and premieres of new works by many important composers. Levingston has given the premieres of  works by Timo Andres, Lisa Bielawa, William Bolcom, David Bruce, Sebastian Currier, David Del Tredici, Nolan Gasser, Philip Glass, David T. Little, Keeril Makan, James Matheson, George Perle, Wolfgang Rihm, Cecil Price Walden, Charles Wuorinen, and Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky. In the coming season, he will record and premiere a new work written for him by Missy Mazzoli.

In 2004, Levingston commissioned Philip Glass to compose “A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close.” In 2005, Levingston premiered Glass’s "A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close” at Lincoln Center and recorded it for his album, Portraits. In 2007, Levingston performed the work live for American Ballet Theatre’s premiere production of Jorma Elo’s “C. to C.” Levingston has performed duos with Glass at Lincoln Center and appeared alongside Glass for the premiere performance of the composer’s complete Etudes at BAM. Levingston’s recordings of Glass’s music are featured on the soundtracks of Scott Hick’s film Glass: A Portrait in Twelve Parts and Marion Cajori’s film Chuck Close.

Levingston has collaborated with many other prominent figures and institutions including Brooklyn Rider, Herman Cornejo, Michael Cunningham, Jorma Elo, Alessandra Ferri, Ethan Hawke, Colin and Eric Jacobsen, Nick McDonnell, George Plimpton, Kevin Young, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of Art; Aspen institute and Aspen Music Festival; French Institute / Alliance Française, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 

Born in the Mississippi Delta, Levingston’s early teachers included Amanda Vick Lethco and Elizabeth Buday. While still in high school, he studied in Switzerland with Béla Böszöményi-Nagy. Levingston attended Darlington School graduating with honors in 1979. In 1983, he received a Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in the Humanities Honors program at the University of Texas at Austin. Levingston continued his post-graduate studies at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto under Anton Kuerti and the Aaron Copland School of Music under Morey Ritt and Carl Schachter. He also attended the Aspen Music School and Festival studying under Herbert Stessin and later appeared there as a guest artist. 

Levingston has been a lifelong advocate for human and animal rights. He performed to free and relocate “refuseniks” from the Soviet Union, served as a Young Leader for the American Council on Germany, and performed at the United Nations to honor the people of Denmark for their heroism during World War II. Levingston co-commissioned and gave the Carnegie Hall premiere of Repast, an oratorio based on the life of the civil rights era figure Booker Wright. In 2017, Levingston performed C. Price Walden’s Sacred Spaces at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, later premiering the work in Carnegie Hall. 

Levingston has written for Piano and Keyboard and is author of Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull, a comprehensive survey of the life and work of the noted Mississippi artist. In 2006, Levingston was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2017, he was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. In 2018, the Governor of Mississippi proclaimed May 9th Bruce Levingston Day for his contributions to education and the arts. Levingston serves as the Chancellor’s Honors College Artist in Residence and is holder of the Lester Glenn Fant Chair at the University of Mississippi. He resides in Oxford, MS and New York City.