Angela Hewitt
Through her lucid, rhythmically vital interpretations, she has redefined the piano music of J.S. Bach for a modern audience, recording his entire keyboard oeuvre.
Born 1958 (age 68)·Canadian classical pianist·Birthday: July 26·Baby Boomers
Biography
Angela Hewitt plays Bach on a modern concert grand with a touch that evokes harpsichord articulation while exploiting the piano's color and dynamic range. Born in Ottawa in 1958 into a musical family—her father was the cathedral organist—she absorbed Baroque counterpoint from childhood. Winning the 1985 Toronto International Bach Piano Competition launched a monumental lifelong project. Over 18 years, she recorded all of Bach's major keyboard works for Hyperion Records, a cycle praised for scholarly insight, lyrical warmth, and dancing rhythmic pulse. Her Bach is neither austere nor romantically heavy. Her influence extends beyond Bach, with praised recordings of Mozart, Couperin, and Ravel, but her advocacy for the Baroque master reshaped the repertoire. A meticulous performer who writes her own program notes, she founded the Trasimeno Music Festival in Umbria, Italy, reflecting her deep connection to the country where she now resides.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Angela was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Angela Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Angela's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Recorded the complete major keyboard works of J.S. Bach for Hyperion Records, a project comprising over 50 CDs completed in 2016.
- Founded and serves as Artistic Director of the Trasimeno Music Festival, a chamber music festival in Umbria, Italy.
- Awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors, for her contributions to classical music.
- Won first prize in the 1985 Toronto International Bach Piano Competition, which launched her international career.
Did You Know?
She is a trained dancer in ballet and tap, which she says profoundly influences her sense of rhythm and phrasing at the piano.
She frequently performs on a specially prepared Fazioli piano, which she praises for its clarity and responsiveness in Baroque music.
She is fluent in English, French, German, and Italian.
Her father, Godfrey Hewitt, was the organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa for over 50 years.
““Bach’s music is not black and white. It’s full of colour, and you have to find that colour without distorting the architecture.””
