Pianist Paul Lewis

I'D expected the brooder i saw on the cover of the wonderful harmonia mundi LPS. but paul lewis, the young liverpool-reared pianist i met at the standard hotel a few months ago, looked like a juggler on his way to a renaissance festival.

lewis, who plays the hollywood bowl twice this week, takes beethoven, schubert, and the heart of the austro-german repertoire very seriously. HERE is my LATimes profile of him.

we also had a great conversation about the lineage of british humor leading to steve coogan, ricky gervais, and the US and UK versions of "the office." cool guy, someone with a real dedication to his work and no noticeable self-absorption. i look forward to more music from paul lewis.

Photo credit: Harmonia Mundi