Igor Levit (Russian: Игорь Левит; born 10 March 1987)[1] is a Russian-German pianist who focuses on the works of Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt. He is also a professor at the Musikhochschule Hannover. He lives in Berlin.[2]

Igor Levit
Levit in 2019
Born
Russian: Игорь Левит

(1987-03-10) 10 March 1987 (age 37)
Education
Occupations
  • Classical pianist
  • Professor
OrganizationsMusikhochschule Hannover
Awards

Biography

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Born in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) to a Jewish family, Levit began playing piano at the age of three. He received piano lessons from his mother Elena Levit, a piano teacher, répétiteur and grand-disciple of Heinrich Neuhaus.[3] As a child, he had his first successes on the concert stage in his hometown. His family moved to Hannover in 1995. From 1999 to 2000, he studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Hans Leygraf and, from 2000 to 2010, at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Matti Raekallio and Bernd Goetzke [de].[4]

Levit has appeared in major concert halls and music festivals around the world. During his studies, he won prizes in several international competitions including second prize at the International Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens (2004), first prize at the 9th Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition in Hamamatsu (2004),[5] the second prize at the piano competition Kissinger Klavierolymp (2004),[6] the silver medal and three other awards at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv (2005). In October 2011, he appeared in a 45-minute documentary aired on 3sat about his love for the music of Franz Liszt. He was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2011 to 2013.

Levit was appointed to a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media) starting in the winter semester 2019/2020.[7] In 2021, Levit contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Nothing Else Matters" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist.[8]

Awards

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Hauskonzerte

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During the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Levit began streaming concerts from his home in Berlin Mitte.[2] He posted these to Twitter as a series of Hauskonzerte:[2][17]

Separately from these concerts, on 30/31 May 2020 Levit gave a solo performance of Vexations by Erik Satie, from a studio in Berlin, over a period of over 15 hours.[76]

Discography

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In 2007, when he was 20 years old, Levit released his debut album, a set of Beethoven's piano concertos, with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Helmut Müller-Brühl on Naxos records.[77] In 2013, he released a two-disc set of Ludwig van Beethoven's late piano sonatas (Nos. 28 to 32), on Sony Classical Records.[78] His second Sony album, a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's six keyboard partitas, was named Gramophone Magazine's recording of the month for October 2014.[79][80] His third Sony album, a 3-CD set of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, and The People United Will Never Be Defeated! by Frederic Rzewski, was released in October 2015.[81][82] His fourth album was a 2-CD set released in 2018 entitled Life, including works by Busoni, Bach, Schumann, Rzewski, Wagner, Liszt, and Bill Evans.[83] It was Levit's response to the death of his best friend, German artist Hannes Malte Mahler [de], who died in a bicycle accident in 2016.[84][85]

His recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas were released by Sony Classical on 13 September 2019.[86] Levit was named Gramophone's 2020 Artist of the Year.[87] His recording On DSCH, pairing Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues Op.87 with Ronald Stevenson's epic Passacaglia on DSCH, was issued by Sony in 2021.[88][89]

  • Levit, Igor (2020), Igor Levit Encounter, OCLC 1199777487 It "feature[s] arrangements by Busoni of chorale preludes by Bach [and by Brahms], Brahms's Vier ernste Gesänge arranged by Reger, Reger's Nachtlied arranged by Julian Becker, and finally Palais de Mari, Morton Feldman's final work for solo piano."[90]
  • "Paavo Järvi and Igor Levit perform Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 = Paavo Järvi und Igor Levit mit Beethovens Klavierkonzert Nr. 5". 2020. OCLC 1296623187. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  • The 2021 Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert : With Daniel Harding and Igor Levit, 2021, OCLC 1334798677
  • Sir Antonio Pappano conducts Schumann and Beethoven – With Igor Levit : Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, 2021, OCLC 1252973781
  • Levit, Igor (2022), Tristan. Tristan features Hans Werner Henze's Tristan, written for piano, electronic tapes, and orchestra; and, arranged for piano, Wagner's prelude to Tristan und Isolde and the Adagio from Mahler's Tenth Symphony.[91]
  • Levit, Igor (2023), Fantasia. Fantasia features Bach, Liszt, Alban Berg, and Busoni.[92]

Albums

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Year Title Record Label
2007 Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 Naxos
2013 Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas Sony Classical
2014 Bach Partitas Sony Classical
2015 Bach Beethoven Rzewski Sony Classical
2018 Life Sony Classical
2019 Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas Sony Classical
2020 Encounter Sony Classical
2021 On DSCH Sony Classical
2022 Tristan Sony Classical
2023 Fantasia Sony Classical
2023 Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte Sony Classical

Writings

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Film

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  • Igor Levit, Mein Liszt (in German), 3Sat, 2011, OCLC 918114930
  • Igor Levit: No Fear (in German), 2023 [93]

References

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  1. ^ Swed, Mark (23 April 2015). "Review: Igor Levit, the best Russian pianist you haven't heard...yet". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Ross, Alex (18 May 2020). "Igor Levit Is Like No Other Pianist". The New Yorker. New York City. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. ^ Luehrs-Kaiser, Kai (27 August 2013). "Klavier-Virtuose: Igor Levit nahm für Beethoven 32 Kilo ab". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Igor Levit". Deutsche-Stiftung-Musikleben. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Prizewinners of last Academies". Hamamatsu International Piano Academy. 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ^ "The Kissinger Piano Olympics from 1st till 4th of October 2020". kissingersommer.de. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  7. ^ Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. "HMTM Hannover: Igor Levit wird Professor für Klavier". www.hmtm-hannover.de (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  8. ^ He, Richard S. (10 September 2021). "Every Metallica Blacklist cover ranked from worst to best". loudersound. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben". Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben (in German). 28 March 2007. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  10. ^ "IFF Hannover: Levit, Igor". IFF Hannover (in German). Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Pianist Igor Levit erhält Beethoven-Ring". Pizzicato (in German). Luxembourg. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  12. ^ Cooper, Michael (3 January 2018). "The Pianist of the Resistance Captures a Surprise Award". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  13. ^ Duke, David Gordon (1 November 2018). "Visit offers rare chance to see renowned performer". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. p. B5. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020 - Artist of the Year". Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020 - Instrumental". Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  16. ^ SWR2 (22 September 2020). "Bundesverdienstkreuz für Bürger, Europäer und Pianist Igor Levit". swr.online (in German). Retrieved 24 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Maddocks, Fiona (24 May 2020). "Igor Levit: 'These concerts were life-saving for me'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  18. ^ In Ross' article in The New Yorker (11 May 2020), Levit implied that he started posting Hauskonzerte on 12 March 2020. In the intro to the 2 May 2020 Hauskonzert, he made this explicit. Posts from 12 and 13 March are not accessible.
  19. ^ 14 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  20. ^ 15 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 20 May 2020. Also performed in the 22 April Hauskonzert.
  21. ^ The 16 March 2020 Hauskonzert is not accessible.
  22. ^ 17 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  23. ^ 18 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  24. ^ 19 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  25. ^ 20 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  26. ^ 21 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  27. ^ 22 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  28. ^ 23 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  29. ^ 24 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  30. ^ 25 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  31. ^ The 26 and 27 March 2020 Hauskonzerte are not accessible.
  32. ^ 28 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  33. ^ 29 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  34. ^ 30 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  35. ^ 31 March 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  36. ^ 01 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  37. ^ 02 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  38. ^ 03 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  39. ^ 04 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  40. ^ 05 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Levit notes in the intro to this post that this is the twenty-fifth Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  41. ^ 06 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  42. ^ 07 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  43. ^ 08 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  44. ^ "Original Rags", "Maple Leaf Rag", and "Peacherine Rag".
  45. ^ 09 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  46. ^ 10 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  47. ^ 11 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  48. ^ 12 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  49. ^ 13 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  50. ^ 14 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  51. ^ 15 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  52. ^ Levit did not play a Hauskonzert on 16 April. He notes in the intro that this is Hauskonzert no. 36.
  53. ^ 17 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  54. ^ Transcription by Ronald Stevenson, per Levit.
  55. ^ 18 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  56. ^ 19 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  57. ^ 20 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 5 June 2020. As of this Hauskonzert, Levit moved his piano across the room "because my bicycle needed space" (Guardian interview, 24 May 2020). The sun sets while he's playing this piece: the room starts in light at 19.00 CEZ and ends in darkness at 20.30 CEZ (the sun set that day at 20.14 CEZ in Berlin).
  58. ^ 21 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  59. ^ 22 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 7 June 2020. Also performed in the 15 March Hauskonzert.
  60. ^ 23 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  61. ^ 24 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  62. ^ 25 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  63. ^ 26 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  64. ^ 27 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  65. ^ 28 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  66. ^ 29 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  67. ^ Levit says in the intro that this Beethoven Ländler of "about 16 bars" has "just [been] found".[This quote needs a citation]
  68. ^ 30 April 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  69. ^ There was no Hauskonzert on 1 May 2020. Levit tweeted that he was in Hanover that day to help celebrate NDR Radiophilharmonie's 70th anniversary. He notes in the intro that this is Hauskonzert no. 50.
  70. ^ 02 May 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  71. ^ 03 May 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  72. ^ Levit tweeted, "To gather strength from silence, not just music. I've been looking for a reason to 'stop', but there's no other than this: pause. Refill. Learn – and start again. And this 'again' will come soon. Therefore, tonight's 52nd house concert will be the last."
  73. ^ 04 May 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  74. ^ Levit posted no Hauskonzerte to Twitter from 5 May through 23 May.
  75. ^ 24 May 2020 Hauskonzert. Igor Levit on Twitter. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  76. ^ Barone, Joshua (31 May 2020). "'I Just Let Myself Go': Igor Levit on Surviving a Satie Marathon". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  77. ^ Piano concertos nos. 1 & 2, 2021, OCLC 1255419542
  78. ^ Levit, Igor (2013), Beethoven: the late piano sonatas, Sony Classical, OCLC 1265416894
  79. ^ "Igor Levit, Piano". Presto Classical. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  80. ^ Partitas BWV 825–830. Sony Music Entertainment. 2014. OCLC 1080919946.
  81. ^ "Igor Levit, Piano". HMV Japan. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  82. ^ The Bach and the Beethoven CDs were released as single CDs in 2016.
  83. ^ Life, 2018, OCLC 1089396971
  84. ^ Jeal, Erica (11 October 2018). "Igor Levit: Life review – pianist's transcendental meditation on grief". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  85. ^ Blum, Ronald (17 March 2019). "Igor Levit not limited to the piano". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. AP. p. C2. Retrieved 23 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  86. ^ Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas review – at his best, Levit is outstanding, The Guardian, 5 September 2019
  87. ^ "Igor Levit named Gramophone's Artist of the Year". Pianist. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  88. ^ SONY 19439809212, reviewed at MusicWeb International
  89. ^ Igor Levit on DSch, 2021, OCLC 1287930470
  90. ^ Editorial Reviews
  91. ^ Guardian
  92. ^ "Igor Levit's latest amazement"
  93. ^ Schilling, Regina (6 October 2022), Igor Levit: No Fear (Documentary), Igor Levit, Andreas Neubronner, Marina Abramovic, Zero One Film, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), ARTE, retrieved 10 July 2023

Further reading

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