Lettvin, Theodore

Summary: Theodore Lettvin was born in Chicago on October 29, 1926. He made his debut as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1939) and performed regularly with major U.S. orchestras afterwards. Lettvin also held numerous positions as a teacher including visiting lecturer at the University of Colorado (1956-1957), head of the piano department at the Cleveland Music School Settlement (1956-1968), professor of piano at the New England Conservatory of Music (1968-1977), the University of Michigan (1977-1987), and Rutgers (from 1987). Theodore Lettvin died on August 24, 2003.

Full History: Theodore Lettvin was born in Chicago on October 29, 1926. From 1930 to 1935 he studied piano with Howard Wells in Chicago, and he continued his studies with Leon Rosenbloom from 1935 to 1941. Lettvin made his debut as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on March 15, 1939. At the age of fifteen, the young pianist won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where for the next seven years he studied with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. His career was briefly interrupted for service with the United States Navy in 1945. After resuming his career, Lettvin was the recipient of several prizes including the Naumberg Award in 1948, and the Michaels Award in 1950. While touring Europe and North Africa in 1952, he was called to Brussels to take part in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Competition.

...