IGOR LEVIT

Igor Levit’s debut at the 2021 Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival was an outstanding occasion. His performance of the last three sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven had a profound effect on both the audience and the music critics. Věroslav Němec in Harmonie magazine spoke in superlatives and wrote that Levit’s treatment of tone colour “might evoke the impression that he was assisted by creatures that were not of this Earth”; he concluded his review by stating that the entire concert “left us feeling we were hovering on the edge of a miracle.” Described by The New York Times as “one of the essential artists of his generation”, the pianist will this season be performing in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Berliner Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein and other major venues. For his new recital programme Levit decided to bring together music by Romantic composers and a new piece which he commissioned from jazz musician Fred Hersch. Why him, in particular? “I’d call the pianist Fred Hersch my idol,” Igor Levit wrote on Twitter. “His musicianship, his style and character are second to none. An absolute idol. And a friend.” This isn’t their first collaboration, however. When the legendary American band Metallica approached Levit to participate in a tribute album entitled The Metallica Blacklist, on which artists across the genres recorded cover versions of every track from the classic Black Album from 1991, he asked Hersch to write a piano arrangement of the famous song “Nothing Else Matters”. “I called Fred because I wanted to bring something rhapsodic out of that song,” Levit stated. “And he really made an incredible thing out of it: this was rhapsodic writing and fairy-tale storytelling.” Both musicians are involved in political and social causes. Hersch is an HIV/AIDS activist, while Levit, unlike many “classical” musicians, is keen to express his opinions on social issues, and he also supports Die Grünen, a green political party in Germany. With this new collaboration between them, we have a real treat in store.