Piano recital Igor Levit

Incomparable - "Perfect sound culture, technical conciseness and a strong message" are the hallmarks of pianist Igor Levit, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung - and that cannot be denied, especially not after his stunning Albert debut in January 2023. The Badische Zeitung also celebrated the brilliant evening with Liszt's B minor Sonata: "Levit scaled this eight-thousander of the piano literature with absolute technical and musical mastery. The protagonist's sweat-inducing performance illuminated all the soulful corners of this work between symphonic opulence and the most subtle chamber music."

The fact that Levit begins his latest piano recital at Albert with Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue has been a tradition since the times of Liszt and Brahms. The former also provided the impetus for the C major Fantasy op. 17 in 1835: with this work, Schumann wanted to make a contribution to the fundraising campaign for the Beethoven memorial in Bonn propagated by Liszt, and this is inscribed in the composition with echoes of the "Distant Beloved" and the Adagio of the 7th Symphony.

The pianist once said of Beethoven, whose music has accompanied Levit since the beginning of his musical career: "I feel at home there. It's my safe zone, and at the same time it's my danger zone, so it's everything." Taking on a complete symphony, in this case the Seventh, on the piano can certainly be considered reckless, as even the creator of the arrangement, Franz Liszt, admitted: "To play the orchestra on the piano has not yet been given to anyone" - yet one must "always strive for the ideal." In Liszt's Beethoven transcriptions, the ideal is not aimed at superficial virtuosity, but rather at a reverently appreciative transcription, at questions of balance and sound in the face of this almost impossible task. Of course, a little megalomania has never done art any harm.

Program:
Bach, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor BWV 903
Schumann, Fantasy in C major op. 17
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A major op. 92 (arr. Liszt)

Igor Levit, piano

EUR 89,- / 79,- / 65,- / 43,- / 31,- incl. fees

Igor Levit | Photo © Felix Broede