Igor Levit delivers a majestic recital in Birmingham

By Nick John Whittle, 21 July 2018

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“warm resonance, the absence of melodrama and a telling but understated way with the pedal”

Reviewed at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 19 July 2018

Bach, Violin Partita no. 2 in D minor, BWV1004: Chaconne, arr. Brahms

Busoni, Fantasia after J.S. Bach, BWV 253

Schumann, Geistervariationen in E flat major, "Ghost Variations", WoO 24

Liszt, Transcr. from Wagner's Solemn March to the Holy Grail from Parsifal, S 450

Liszt, Fantasia and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam" S 259 (arr. Busoni)

Igor Levit, Piano

Igor Levit brings Beethoven and Rzewski to Carnegie Hall

Kurt Gottschalk, 22nd January

Levit introduced the theme at such a clip that one couldn't help but worry about the marathon of musculature he had in front of him, but he persevered, playing with a precision that was almost alarming.

*****

Tremendous energy and engagement from Igor Levit at Wigmore Hall

Patrick Maxwell, 22nd September

Igor Levit brings a well-considered programme of Schubert, Schumann and Chopin to London in a performance of commitment and subtlety.

****1

Percussive Prokofiev and titanic Shostakovich from Levit and Sternath

Mark Pullinger, 4th April

Igor Levit champions his young mentee Lukas Sternath in a joint Wigmore Hall recital culminating in Shostakovich's own transcription of his Tenth Symphony.

****1

Budapest Festival Orchestra sprinkles fairydust over London

Roy Westbrook, 11th March

Story time with Uncle Iván as the BFO plays music from the ballet Cinderella to crown an all-Prokofiev evening.

****1

Subsuming virtuosity: Igor Levit at Carnegie Hall

Edward Sava-Segal, 12th January

Igor Levit's Carnegie Hall programme evolves into a journey through interconnected musical worlds, revealing unexpected parallels and contrasts.

****1

Levit and New York Phil principals in double concertos

Edward Sava-Segal, 30th May

In a subscription performance supposed to yield no surprises, Igor Levit makes his own mark in Shostakovich.

***11

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Nick John Whittle

Nick is a specialist freelance copywriter with over ten years’ experience of producing content for a wide range of companies and entertainment websites. After leaving school he studied clarinet, composition and piano at Universities in Edinburgh and London, and later joined the chorus of Mid Wales Opera for its 1997 season. He still teaches budding clarinettists but now only sings as a last resort.