Pianist Angela Hewitt in concert December 1, 2009

San Francisco Performances brings back celebrated pianist Angela Hewitt for a recital featuring Bach's Partita No. 2 in C minor and Partita No. 1, in B-flat Major as well as Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze,Opus 6 and Sonata in G minor, Opus 22.

Known for her magnetic musicianship and precise technique, Hewitt is a renowned Bach specialist. Completed in 2005, her 11-year project to record all the composer's major keyboard works has been described as "one of the record glories of our age" (The Sunday Times) and she has been hailed as "the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time" (The Guardian).

Her recordings of Bach's complete solo keyboard concertos with the Australian Chamber Orchestra made the Billboard charts in the United States, and were named Record of the Month in Gramophone magazine. The first of a series of CDs featuring the music of Schumann was released in November 2007. Beyond that, Hewitt's vast discography includes CDs of works by Granados, Beethoven, Rameau, Chabrier, Messiaen, Ravel, Chopin, and others.

In July 2005, Hewitt launched her own Trasimeno Music Festival in the heart of Umbria in Italy. Now an annual event, it offers seven concerts over seven days featuring Hewitt as a recitalist, chamber musician, song accompanist and conductor, working with both established and young artists of her choosing.

Born into a musical family (her father was the cathedral organist in Ottawa, Canada). Hewitt began her piano studies at age three and during her formative years also studied violin, recorder and classical ballet. At nine she gave her first recital at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music where she later studied. She then went on to study with French pianist Jean-Paul Sevilla at the University of Ottawa.

Named Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2006, Hewitt was awarded the first ever BBC Radio 3 Listener's Award (Royal Philharmonic Society Awards) in 2003. She has lived in London since 1985 but also has homes in Ottawa and Umbria.

Official Website: http://www.performances.org