Igor Levit’s Sony recordings have already displayed the technical prowess and unique qualities of this supremely gifted pianist. However, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus he has became even more special having given over 50 concerts from his house via the internet. And for him, as he stated in his short Q&A with the Festival’s directors, he is just happy to be playing to an audience be it 15 people in a recording studio, in a concert hall, or online as in this performance of Beethoven’s 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op.120. The set-up was provided with two way cameras so that not only did the local audience see Levit’s performance, but he could as also view us and our reactions. Generally it was a technical marvel with the adoption of a large variety of camera angles including primarily overhead shots and a focus on his remarkable fingerwork – thereby affording the audience an even more intimate view of an artist at work than a concert hall experience allows. However, sonically, there were glitches; while the sound was generally life-like, there were moments of static and hiss, and there was quite an amount of distortion...
On the Record: November 2023
Mozart heads up this month with Igor Levit and Víkingur Ólafsson hot on his heels. Vocal delights include Sarah Connolly’s Mahler and miraculous choral music by Stephen Hough.
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