Pianist Igor Levit performed for the first time in Montreal in recital Monday evening at Bourgie Hall in a program that took the piano to a symphonic dimension, notably in Liszt’s transcription of the Heroic Symphony by Beethoven. The concert was impressive even if the pianist was hampered by a foot injury.
According to information gleaned from The duty, Igor Levit made a big splash for the Montreal public by appearing on stage Monday evening. An unfortunate foot injury caused him great pain and handicapped him so much that he had to appear on stage in socks, as he was unable to put on a shoe.
Hamburg happiness
We could obviously fear a major impact on the pianist’s sound, due to a potential reduced control of the management of the resonance, but nothing appeared and the listeners did not take long to notice it, since the pianist took on the four Pieces opus 119 of Brahms by very quickly taming the instrument in the Bourgie Room.
At this point it is important to remember the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas recorded by Igor Levit, who showed us how sound control is a primary factor in his art. It is also essential to emphasize once again to what extent the piano recitals of such artists at the Bourgie Hall have become a gift from heaven, thanks to the hall’s acquisition of this miraculous Steinway from Hamburg, a real star since the start of this season.
Teaching of the evening, Igor Levit, who, beyond his complete Beethoven and his other records, made himself known through hyperactivity on social media (Twitter at the time), which he put on hold for several years, has been a “truly great pianist” and not a social phenomenon or a marketing phenomenon. The thing deserves to be clarified, because the question was raised at one time in the German press.
The pianist’s eminent qualities appear in these four Brahms, very well phrased and never weighed down. L’Opus 119 No. 4 sets the table for the rest of the recital, as it expands the boundaries of the instrument. We can then speak of a “symphonic” piano, a dimension which proves important when the tension of the Adagio of the 10e Symphony of Mahler where the Final of the Heroic Symphony.
Impressive Beethoven
Mahler holds the piano reduction well thanks to the beauty of his themes, except obviously the episode of the large chords held for a long time during the dissonant climax. The piano, a percussion instrument, requires repeating notes, a somewhat artificial effect, even if obligatory.
In Liszt’s transcription of the 3e Symphony of Beethoven, we say, in the 1er movement which sometimes slips a little, that we would have liked to hear Igor Levit play something else. But two movements, the 2e and the 4e, convince us that we have the chance to attend a very great musical evening. There Funeral parade for the density and concentration that Levit gives it, the Final for a real explosion of sound, a debauchery perfectly mastered by the pianist and which takes us to intoxicating and unexpected lands. Despite the virtuosity and the surges, Levit never forgets to savor a change of atmosphere or to play with the sounds.
After Llŷr Williams and Nicolas Namoradze, Bourgie’s piano, pushed to its limits by Levit in this 4e movement, has once again offered us the purest expression of pianistic and sonic ecstasy.
We will enjoy seeing the pianist again in the future, whether in this place or at the Maison symphonique.