Angela Hewitt

Angela Hewitt (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She also holds British nationality through her father, Godfrey, who was the cathedral organist in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Angela Hewitt began her piano studies at age 3, performed in public at 4, and won her first music scholarship at 5. Aside from the piano, she also studied violin, recorder, and ballet (at Mme. Toumine's school in Ottawa). Her first recital was in the Royal Conservatory in Toronto at the age of 9. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory from 1964 to 1973. She then went on to study with the French pianist, Jean-Paul Sévilla, at the University of Ottawa. She placed first in the Gian Battista Viotti competition in 1978 and in 1985 won the Toronto International Bach piano competition. Angela Hewitt has performed internationally as a soloist with renowned orchestras and has made many recordings. In 1994, the Hyperion record label signed her to record all the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach, a project that was recently completed and spanned 14 discs. Angela Hewitt is generally regarded as one of the foremost Bach pianists. Aside from her complete recording of Bach's keyboard music, Angela Hewitt has made notable recordings of the works of some French composers -- including François Couperin, Emmanuel Chabrier, Maurice Ravel and Olivier Messiaen -- and the 19th-century Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. These recordings have also been well received. Since 1985 Angela Hewitt has lived in London. She also has homes in Canada and Umbria, Italy. In 2000, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC). She was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 17 June 2006.