Born in 1949 in Paris, Michaël Levinas studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he was taught by Vlado Perlemuter, Yvonne Lefébure, and Yvonne Loriod, as well as Olivier Messiaen for composition. In 1974, he co-founded the ensemble L’Itinéraire, before becoming a resident at the Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome. His training as a composer enabled him to develop a pianistic approach and an instrumental culture that trace the history of interpretation from the late Baroque period to 20th-century music. Conversely, it is no doubt the pianist’s ear — shaping the sound of the instrument — that inspired the composer and his acoustic explorations.
Michaël Levinas’s work has continually explored the realms of timbre and acoustics, notably in pieces such as Appels, Ouverture pour une fête étrange, and La Conférence des Oiseaux. The fundamental question of the relationship between text and music is particularly evident in works like Les Aragon (1998), as well as in his recent and remarkable contributions to the stage: the opera Go-gol (1996), based on The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol, was premiered by the Musica Festival in Strasbourg, IRCAM, and the Opéra de Montpellier in a staging by Daniel Mesguich. The opera Les Nègres, based on the play by Jean Genet, for which the composer wrote the libretto, was commissioned by the Opéra National de Lyon and the Geneva Opera. It premiered in 2004, directed by Stanislas Nordey, and was revived at the Grand Theatre of Freiburg in 2006 in a new production. A third opera, La Métamorphose, based on Franz Kafka, premiered in March 2011 at the Opéra de Lille. In 2015, his opera based on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was premiered at the Opéra de Lausanne, staged by Lilo Baur.
Among his recent works are The Passion according to Mark, a Passion after Auschwitz (2017), Les voix ébranlées, Prière d’insérer (commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain for 2024–25), and Le Cantique des larmes, a Radio France commission for the Philharmonic Orchestra (2025), set to premiere at the “Présences” festival (Radio France).
Michaël Levinas’s piano discography, ranging from Bach to Boulez, has received widespread critical acclaim. Highlights include his very first recording devoted to Schumann, unveiled at MIDEM Classique; the complete Beethoven Sonatas; The Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach; the complete Études by Scriabin; and the album Double Face (Levinas/Ligeti).
He has performed the complete Beethoven Sonatas several times in concert, particularly in Paris, and has hosted several episodes of Atelier du musicien on France Musique devoted to this repertoire. In 2004, he toured performing the entirety of The Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach, starting in the main hall of the Cité de la Musique in Paris. This performance cycle was linked to the premiere of his opera Les Nègres, which was staged more than twenty times at the Opéra de Lyon and the Geneva Opera. On days off, Michaël Levinas performed both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier on the opera house stage.
He has been invited to major European contemporary music festivals, where he performed works by Stockhausen, Boulez, Messiaen, Ligeti, and premiered pieces by composers such as Nunes and Murail. His dual vocations as pianist and composer are closely intertwined. His works are performed by leading interpreters of today, in France and abroad. He has been invited to teach composition at some of the most prestigious institutions, including the Darmstadt Summer Courses, the Royaumont Seminar, and the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Michaël Levinas is Professor Emeritus at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Teaching has been a fundamental commitment throughout his life as a musician.
He was a co-founder of the ensemble L’Itinéraire and the spectral music movement, alongside Tristan Murail, Gérard Grisey, Hugues Dufourt, and Roger Tessier.
He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts on March 18, 2009, and in 2023, he was elected its President for the year.
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