Igor Levit
piano
With an alert and critical mind, Igor Levit places his art in the context of social events and understands it as inseparably linked to them. The New York Times describes Igor Levit as one of the “most important artists of his generation”, the New Yorker as a pianist “like no other”.
In the 2023/24 season Igor Levit performs in recital at the Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie Berlin, La Scala Milan, Carnegie Hall New York, London’s Wigmore Hall as well as in Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, Montréal and Toronto among others. A highlight of Igor Levit’s orchestral season calendar is a Brahms cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic and Christian Thielemann. Also with the Vienna Philharmonic, Igor Levit joins forces for a European tour (Jakub Hrůša) and during the Mozartwoche in Salzburg (Joana Mallwitz). Guest engagements include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Berlin with Elim Chan, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden with Tugan Sokhiev, the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester with Alan Gilbert, the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Joana Mallwitz as well as with the New York Philharmonic and Jaap van Zweden. After a very successful launch of the Piano Fest in 2023, Igor Levit curates the festival’s second edition in May 2024 in collaboration with the Lucerne Festival.
Born in Nizhni Novgorod, Igor Levit completed his piano studies in Hannover with the highest score in the history of the institute. In spring 2019 he was appointed professor for piano at his alma mater, the University of Music, Theatre and Media Hanover.
For his political commitment Igor Levit has been awarded the 5th International Beethoven Prize in 2019 followed by the award of the "Statue B" of the International Auschwitz Committee in January 2020. His 53 Twitter-streamed live house concerts during the lockdown in spring 2020 garnered a worldwide audience, offering a sense of community and hope in a time of isolation and desperation. In October 2020 Igor Levit was recognized with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In Berlin, where he makes his home, Igor Levit is playing on a Steinway D Grand Piano kindly given to him by the Trustees of Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells.
