Eugene Levinson
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[edit] Biography
According to Book 1 of the New Method for Double Bass (Carl Fischer edition), Mr. Levinson, who was born in Kiev, began to study music at the age of nine. He graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory, later receiving a doctoral degree from this institution. At the age of just twenty-nine, he was the youngest member ever to be appointed to the Leningrad Conservatory's faculty. In Leningrad, he also became a member of the Leningrad Philarmonic Orchestra for almost sixteen years, and was Prinicipal Bass of the Leningrad Chamber Orchestra for thirteen years.
Mr. Levinson travelled to the United States in 1977, and became Principal Bass of the Minnesota Orchestra soon after his arrival. Whilst living in the States, he served on the faculty of both the Sarasota Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival, as well as the Indiana University Summer School. He also joined the bass-department faculty of the Juilliard School in 1985, and was eventually appointed Principal Bass of the New York Philharmonic.
In 2003 the prestigious Special Recognition Award in Orchestral Performance from the International Society of Bassists honoured Eugene Levinson for his "extraordinary skills and contribution to the worldwide community of bassists".
[edit] The School of Agility
The School of Agility is a book by Eugene Levinson (also published by Carl Fischer) which concentrates on improving vital fingering technique for bass players of all levels. His approach focuses on improving rhythm, intonation and fingerboard agility via a variety of fingerings.
The book includes: -Fingerings designed to allow the individual bassist to find those most suitable to their style and level of playing. -Fingerings appropriate to certain playing situations -Fingerings concerned with the shaping of phrases by facilitating smoother transitions. -Techniques to help produce a clean and clear sound.
Many respected publications have offered their opinions on this book;
"Levinson, a legendary figure...Any method by him is certainly worth a second, third and even a fourth look" -The Strad
"A great publication for serious string bass students" -Instrumentalist
"A stellar contribution to the field of bass pedagogy" -American String Teacher
