Concert pianist and composer of Jewish origin.
Biography.
Levitsky was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), to Jewish parents who were naturalized American citizens on their way back to Ukraine.
He began playing the violin at the age of three, but soon developed an interest in the piano, which he studied in Warsaw with Alexander Michalowski. He made his debut in Antwerp in 1906.
In New York, Levitsky's father drew Walter Damrosch's attention to his son. Damrosch helped Levitsky obtain a scholarship to the Institute of Musical Arts (now the Juilliard School).
He studied with Zygmunt Stojowski from 1907 to 1911.
In 1913, Levitsky entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where he became the youngest student of Ernst von Donaghy.
He was awarded the Mendelssohn Prize in 1915.
He made his American debut in New York on October 17, 1916 at Aeolian Hall. He later settled in the United States and became a citizen.
Levitsky gave concerts around the world until his death. He toured the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, becoming famous for his performances in the romantic repertoire. In 1917, he was elected an honorary member of the Alpha Chapter of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity at the New England Conservatory of Music.
He transcribed numerous pieces for piano, prepared a cadenza for Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, and wrote small pieces for piano. Among his most popular compositions for piano are The Enchanted Nymph, Waltz in A, Gypsy Waltz, and Havot.
In the 1920s, he recorded extensively for the AMPICO Piano Roll Company.
He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 42 in 1941 at his home in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey.
Levitsky's works are kept in the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts.
Selected compositions
Waltz Concerto, Op. 1 (1924)
Valse, op. 2 (1921)
Gavotte, op. 3 (1923)
Ah, you beloved, op. 4 (1929)
Arabesque valsante, Op. 6 (1934)
Valse Tzigane, Op. 7 (1935)
Dance of the Doll, op. 8 (1937)
Do You Remember, Op. 9 (1940)
The Enchanted Nymph (1928)
