Though born in the Archangelsk region of Russia in 1952, also the birthplace of his
mother, a prominent operatic diva whose ancestry dates back to an ancient and noble
family of Istomin, Alexander Levkovich spent most of his life in Ukraine. Immersing
himself in musical studies in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, he first became
familiar with the works of Győrgy Ligeti, Anton Webern and Alfred Schnittke that
were to become among the greatest influences in his music. It was during this time
that the great Valentin Silvestrov befriended the young composer, becoming both his
mentor and a dedicated champion of his music. Today, Maestro Silvestrov can be
found at each and every performance of Mr. Levkovich"s music in his native city of
Kiev. In 1980, Alexander Levkovich graduated from the Lysenko Academy of
Music having earned both a degree in Piano Performance and Composition between
1971 and 1980. In 1983, Mr. Levkovich was invited to become a member of the
Creative Composer"s League of the former Soviet Union, therein taking his place
among the finest creative minds of that country. During this time, many of his works
were performed by leading soloists and orchestras in cities throughout the former
Soviet Union, including Kiev, St. Petersburg, Baku, Yerevan and Tbilisi. A master of
many musical genres, he had already to date produced a prolific quantity of works,
including three symphonies, six chamber cantatas for baritone and chamber orchestra,
as well as two concerti. In 1989, Alexander Levkovich was named Composer of the
Year in Ukraine, the highest honour possible to be bestowed upon a composer in that
country. In July, 1988, Alexander Levkovich"s Cantata No. 5 Chornobil for baritone
and chamber ensemble had its world premiere on Radio Liberty in Munich. This
work was banned in the USSR at that time due to the tense political situation
surrounding the Chornobil incident. This work is based on a text by one of Ukraine"s
most revered poets, Pavlo Movchan, who took it upon himself to spearhead the
heroic effort to record and broadcast this work. Needless to say, it caused an uproar
in eastern Europe, not only due to its narrative content, but as well as to it"s deeply
sensitive, yet passionate programmatic nature. Now, while at the peak of his career,
Mr. Levkovich emmigrated to Israel, where for two years, his broad exposure there
perpetuated performances not only in Israel, but also in other countries, namely, in
Italy and The United States: in 1991, at the Fifth International Festival of Chamber
Music in Camerino, Italy, the composer himself participated as pianist in
performances of his Piano Trio "Romantic Music" and Septet along with Philip
Hirshkhorn, Julian Milkis, Dimitri Yablonsky and others. (Other distinguished
musicians taking part in the festival included Martha Argerich, Valeri Afanassiev,
Youri Bashmet, Alexander Rabinovich, Dora Schvartsberg and Vadim Sakharov.)
Then, in 1992, Mr. Levkovich"s Symphony for String Orchestra received rave
reviews after a performance with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra in NYC. In
that same year, Mr. Levkovich became a resident of Canada, and has remained as
such to date. The composer has recently received the Best Music award at the
Nickle Independent Film and Video Festival in Newfoundland. The "Best Music
Award" was given for the film "Songs of Youth...a film that has a big heart...a blind
protagonist who sees more than most" - Paul Cox, filmmaker. A member of film
festival’s jury.

Word of Alexander Levkovich"s extraordinary talent traveled quickly. In 1993,
conductor Gennady Rozdestvensky and the Stockholm Philharmonic commissioned a
work from the composer. What ensued was the "Elegy of Sorrow" to texts by both
Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Brodsky, for solo violin and piano, narrator and
chamber orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Levkovich was once again commissioned
to write; this time it was at the request of conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His orchestral work "There is No End to My
Sorrow" was performed twice by the TSO at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto.
Tamara Bernstein, Music Critic for the National Post in Toronto, described the work
as "quietly noble...with an expert but unostentatious orchestration". Other highlights of
recently performed works include: the Piano Trio No. 2, commissioned by The
Rachmaninoff Trio, performed in Toronto in May, 2000, the Duo Concerto for violin,
piano and fourteen strings performed by the Kiev Camerata at the Organ Hall in
Kiev, in September 2000, the "Lullaby" for clarinet and piano, performed by Julian
Milkis and Vadim Sakharov at the Sviatoslav Richter Chamber Music Festival
"December Evenings", the most prestigious music festival in the world in Moscow, in
December 2000, and Braziliana No. 1 for clarinet and strings, performed by Julian
Milkis and the Ensemble del Arte under the direction of Alexander Brussilovsky, at
the Kongregationsaal und Boxenstall Neuberg an der Donau, in Neuberg, Germany,
in May 2001, as well as the "Elegy of Sorrow" for violin, piano, narrator and
chamber orchestra performed by the Kiev Camerata in May, 2001, in Kiev. In
December, 2001, several of Mr. Levkovich"s works are scheduled for performance
in the finest concert halls in Russia, namely: the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Great
Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, and both the Philharmonic and Capella in
St. Petersburg. To be performed are his Braziliana No. 1 as well as a world premiere
performance of his Trio "Révelations", by the following distinguished artists: clarinetist
Julian Milkis, cellist Alexander Kniaziev, pianist Valeri Afanassiev and actor Veniamin
Smiekhov as narrator. Scheduled for performance as well are an arrangement of the
Aria from Villa Lobos" Bachiana No. 5 for clarinet, cello and strings, and an
arrangement of the Adagietto from Mahler’s 5th Symphony for clarinet, cello, harp
and string orchestra. These arrangements will be performed by several orchestras
with solo guest artists Julian Milkis and Alexander Kniaziev.

Alexander Levkovich"s son, pianist and composer, Dimitri Levkovich graduated from
the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with a degree in composition at the age of
nineteen. Prior to that, he won third prize in the Missouri International Piano
Competition in 1997 at the age of 18. Dimitri later went on to study piano at the
Cleveland Institute of Music with pianist Sergei Babayan and is currently studying
with Andre Laplante in Toronto. In May, 2001, his work, "Fantasy for Piano and
Orchestra" was performed by himself at the keyboard, with the National Symphony
Orchestra of Ukraine.

Recentely, Alexander Levkovich had two very successful performances of his latest
compositions - one at The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on December
19, and the other at the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmony on December
22, 2001.