Camerata Musica Cambridge: IGOR LEVIT, piano

Tue 25 February 2020

West Road Concert Hall

Bach-Brahms, Chaconne from the Partita for Solo Violin in D minor, BWV 1004 (1877)
Busoni, Fantasia after J. S. Bach, BV 253
Schumann, Theme and Variations in E-flat, WoO 24, ‘Geistervariationen’
Wagner-Liszt, Solemn March to the Holy Grail from Parsifal, S. 450
Liszt-Busoni, Fantasia and Fugue on the Chorale ‘Ad nos, ad salutarem undam’, S. 259

Lauded for his rare technical sophistication, refinement of tone and innovative programmatic explorations, Igor Levit continues to make his mark on the classical music world as ‘one of the most probing, intelligent and accomplished artists of the new generation’ (The New York Times) and as a true artist ‘authentic in the most profound meaning of the word’ (The Sunday Times). The Los Angeles Times proclaimed in Spring 2015 that ‘He is the future’.

Levit has more than justified these early plaudits. His recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Frederic Rzewski’s variation cycle The People United Will Never Be Defeated have been garlanded with honours; and in 2018 he was appointed Gilmore Artist of the Year, one of the most prestigious and lucrative prizes in the musical world. Performances of the complete Beethoven Sonatas at Wigmore Hall and in other major European concert venues have consolidated his reputation as an artist of formidable intelligence and masterly command of the keyboard.

In October 2018, Sony Classical released Igor Levit’s highly anticipated fourth album for the label, Life – which includes many of the works that he will play in his recital for Camerata Musica. Recent highlights include his critically acclaimed debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival, with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala and Leipzig’s Gewandhausorchester. In 2019, he joins the Vienna Philharmonic on a tour which also includes his highly anticipated orchestral soloist debut at Carnegie Hall, New York.

Cost: £10-£35