Pianist Angela Hewitt has been awarded the Wigmore Medal on stage at Wigmore Hall after her Special Broadcast Recital on June 25. The Wigmore Medal was awarded to Ms. Hewitt in recognition of her international standing and contribution to the Hall, over the course of more than 80 performances since her Wigmore debut in 1985.
Ms. Hewitt had been due to receive the Medal from Wigmore Hall’s Royal Patron HRH The Duke of Kent at a public concert on 2 June, before the COVID-19 pandemic required the Hall to close.
The Wigmore Medal was inaugurated in 2007 and recognises major international artists and significant figures in the classical music world who have a strong association with the Hall. Past recipients include Iestyn Davies, Christian Gerhaher, Steven Isserlis, Dame Felicity Lott, Thomas Quasthoff, Menahem Pressler, Sir András Schiff and the Takács String Quartet.
“It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Angela Hewitt on receiving the Wigmore Hall Medal. This Medal is awarded in recognition of her outstanding career, as well as her contribution to Wigmore Hall. My warmest congratulations on receiving this honour and I look forward to many more spectacular performances on the Wigmore Hall stage in the future.”
“Wigmore Hall has shaped my career in so many ways, and to receive the Wigmore Hall Medal was one of the happiest moments of my life. In 35 years of being on that beautiful stage, it was always my Wigmore programmes that gave shape to each concert season. I knew it was a place where, along with the well-known classics, I could perform more unusual repertoire and still fill the hall. The audience came not only to be thrilled but to be educated, and they trusted you with your choice. Their incredible attentiveness was felt even before I played the first note.
Under the leadership of John Gilhooly, the hall has expanded its reach and commitment in so many wonderful ways and is a model of what a recital and chamber music venue should be in this new decade.
I feel deeply honoured to join the distinguished list of previous Wigmore Medal winners. Thank you all for your friendship and support which means the world to me.”
“Angela is an exceptional artist, and her performances at Wigmore Hall have been characterised by a tireless curiosity, technical flair and an overriding sense of artistic integrity. I am very pleased that despite the global health crisis we found a way for Angela still to perform at the Hall this June and receive this well-deserved award.”
The Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcast series has seen live music return to Wigmore Hall during the COVID-19 lockdown with concerts broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and in HD video on the Hall’s website every weekday during June.
Drawing comparisons with Dame Myra Hess’s concerts from the National Gallery during World War II and being described as “The musical event of the year”, the recitals have seen artists such as Stephen Hough, Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida perform in an empty Hall to an international audience.
Ms. Hewitt had been due to receive the Medal from Wigmore Hall’s Royal Patron HRH The Duke of Kent at a public concert on 2 June, before the COVID-19 pandemic required the Hall to close.
The Wigmore Medal was inaugurated in 2007 and recognises major international artists and significant figures in the classical music world who have a strong association with the Hall. Past recipients include Iestyn Davies, Christian Gerhaher, Steven Isserlis, Dame Felicity Lott, Thomas Quasthoff, Menahem Pressler, Sir András Schiff and the Takács String Quartet.
HRH The Duke of Kent said:
“It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Angela Hewitt on receiving the Wigmore Hall Medal. This Medal is awarded in recognition of her outstanding career, as well as her contribution to Wigmore Hall. My warmest congratulations on receiving this honour and I look forward to many more spectacular performances on the Wigmore Hall stage in the future.”
Angela Hewitt says:
“Thank you, Wigmore Hall and director John Gilhooly, for awarding me this most prestigious honour, and adding my name to such an illustrious list of former winners. There is no other recital hall stage in the world that feels more like “home” than does Wigmore, and my performances there over the past 35 years have been the backbone of my career, always giving me the inspiration to go on.”
John Gilhooly, Wigmore Hall’s Artistic & Executive Director, says:
“Angela is an exceptional artist, and her performances at Wigmore Hall have been characterised by a tireless curiosity, technical flair and an overriding sense of artistic integrity. I am very pleased that, despite the global health crisis, we found a way for Angela still to perform at the Hall this June and receive this well-deserved award.”
The Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcast series has seen live music return to Wigmore Hall during the COVID-19 lockdown with concerts broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and in HD video on the Hall’s website every weekday during June.
Drawing comparisons with Dame Myra Hess’s concerts from the National Gallery during World War II and being described as “The musical event of the year”, the recitals have seen artists such as Stephen Hough, Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida perform in an empty Hall to an international audience.