Igor Levit’s Nocturne
The phenomenal Igor Levit and his late-night rendezvous featuring the music of Brahms and Morton Feldman, inspired by Near and Middle Eastern rugs and the ruins of the ancient Palace of Mari.
Programme
- Johannes Brahms: Six Pieces for Piano Op. 118
- Morton Feldman : Palais de Mari
Performers
- Igor Levit – piano
Prague Spring Artist-in-Residence for 2027 Igor Levit will deviate somewhat from his “Beethovenesque” festival line with the appealing nocturne format, a late-evening musical encounter that has a distinctive meditative atmosphere. This shorter concert with no interval will include one of the most exquisite piano opuses ever written, Six Pieces for Piano Op. 118 by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), dedicated to the composer’s lifelong love Clara Schumann. The second piece, Intermezzo in A major, is even interpreted as a love letter, expressing love, reminiscences and yearning.
“One of the most interesting things about a beautiful old rug in natural vegetable dyes is that it has abrash. Abrash means that you dye in small quantities. You cannot dye in big bulks of wool. So it’s the same, but yet it’s not the same. It has a kind of microtonal hue. So when you look at it, it has a kind of marvellous shimmer which [results from] that slight gradation,” wrote composer Morton Feldman (1926–1987) in his 1981 essay Crippled Symmetry. Feldman was one of the most original figures of American music of the latter half of the 20th century, whose creative role models and friends included John Cage and painter Jackson Pollock. His music reflects his fascination with the “microtonal hues” of carpets from the Near and Middle East, as is the case in his last work for piano, Palais de Mari, which was inspired by the imperfect symmetry of the ruins of the ancient Babylonian Palace of Mari. This is a fascinating and, by its very nature, unique work of the 20th century, performed superbly by Igor Levit, who recorded the piece on his album Encounter for Sony Classical. As we listen to it, we might appreciate the invitation from American musicologist James Pritchett: “The introductory four-note motif is reminiscent of an opening door. We stand at the threshold and peer in, then start to pass through the doorway and start the journey, even though we have no idea where we’re going to wind up.”
Igor Levit – Prague Spring Artist-in-Residence 2027
The New York Times described him as “one of the essential artists of his generation”, while the Berliner Morgenpost hailed him as a “master of exquisite, poetic sound and delicate cantabile”. Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Levit emigrated to Germany with his family when he was eight. His future career on the world concert stage was firmly established with his success at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 2005 where, as the event’s youngest participant ever, he not only won one of the top prizes, but he also garnered several other awards, including the Audience Prize. He received prestigious awards for his recordings as well: the Opus Klassik, Gramophone magazine’s “Artist of the Year” title, “Recording Artist of the Year” from Musical America and “Recording of the Year” from BBC Music Magazine.
At the age of thirty-three he further cemented his world prominence when he performed his “home” recitals, streamed live during the Coronavirus lockdown. The very first concert attracted 350,000 listeners, who were joined – over the course of fifty-three recitals – by hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world. In addition to classical music Levit also served up soul, jazz, rock, Erik Satie’s 20-hour-long Vexations and, as here, the music of American avant-gardist Morton Feldman. The series became so popular that one of the recitals was even broadcast from Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German president. For this expression of civic engagement, along with his commitment in the fight against anti-Semitism, Levit was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in the autumn of 2020.
Other concerts as part of Igor Levit’s residency
Levit & Capuçon & Hagen
Piano trios by Beethoven and Brahms in a first-rate performance by Igor Levit, Renaud Capuçon and Julia Hagen, plus a Beethoven pass featuring a whole range of experiences on top of that!
Levit & Fischer & Czech Philharmonic
Ádám Fischer’s triple debut, in which the temperament of works by Ludwig van Beethoven encounters the elegant music of Joseph Haydn. Together with your ticket you will also receive a Beethoven pass featuring a range of experiences.
Levit – Beethoven Sonatas
A selection from Ludwig van Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, for whose recording Igor Levit was nominated for a Grammy Award. The famous Tempest, the thrilling Waldstein Sonata and a Beethoven pass on top of that!
