IGOR LEVIT: An Evening of Beethoven Sonatas to Play The Wallis

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts ("The Wallis") presents pianist Igor Levit for one performance only, April 21, 2015 at 8:00 pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater.

The program includes Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 1 in B flat Major, BWV825; Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 22 in F Major, Op. 54; Ronald Stevenson: Fantasy on Peter Grimes; Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, "The Tempest", Op. 31, No. 2; and Sergey Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat Major "Stalingrad", Op. 83.

Igor Levit began playing piano at age three, and had his first successes on the concert stage as a child in his hometown of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. At age eight, his family moved to Hannover, Germany, where he continued his piano education at Hannover Academy of Music, Theatre and Media, completing his studies in 2009 (and age 22) and earning the highest academic and performance scores in the history of the institute. Levit has appeared in major concert halls and music festivals around the world, and has won several international awards, including second prize at the International Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens (2004), first prize at the International Piano Academy Competition in Hamamatsu (2004), a silver medal and three other awards at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv (2005) and the Luitpold Prize for young artists in Bad Kissingen (2009).

The New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini, reviewing Levit's North American recital debut in March 2014, said, "A major new pianist has arrived. When I listened to his debut recording, I was astonished by the mature, commanding and richly detailed playing of this exceptional artist. His superb live performance confirmed the impression of his recording. His Beethoven playing has the intellectual depth and structural clarity characteristic of the Schnabel tradition. I also hear elements of what is generally considered the Russian style in Mr. Levit's playing: a feeling for rich, varied colorings; supple, free lyricism. The two traditions, as well as his own instincts, come together in the plush sound, breadth and structural clarity of his playing. He had been introduced. And how."

SIngle tickets are available at www.thewallis.org, by calling 310-746-4000, or in person at The Wallis Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Igor Levit, piano

About Igor Levit

Igor Levit's 2014-15 season includes recital performances featuring staples of his repertoire, including Bach, Beethoven, Busoni and Shostakovich at Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Prinzregententheater Munich, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Copenhagen's Black Diamond, Birmingham's Town Hall and at Tonhalle Zürich. London's Wigmore Hall is dedicating an introductory series to Igor Levit featuring three solo recitals throughout the season; the July 2015 finale will feature an evening of music by Cornelius Cardew and Frederic Rzewski.

In spring 2015,Levit will return to the Heidelberger Frühling in his capacity as the festival's Chamber Music Academy's Artistic Director, and will also make recital debuts with Washington's Performing Arts Society and The Gilmore in Michigan. Upcoming orchestral debuts include the San Francisco Symphony (Heras-Casado) and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Norrington), as well as with the hr-Sinfonieorchestr (Manze) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bringuier). The season also reunites Levit with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden (V. Jurowski) and the WDR Sinfonieorchester (Saraste). He will also return in recital to Germany's summer festivals: Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and will continue his Beethoven Sonata Cycle at the Schubertiade in Austria.

Last season, Levit celebrated both his recital and orchestral debut on the main stage of Vienna's Musikverein - where he stepped in for Maurizio Pollini in June 2014 and for Helene Grimaud (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Andris Nelsons) in March 2014 - to great critical acclaim. Only four days earlier, on March 12, 2014, Levit made his New York City recital debut at the Park Avenue Armory to effusive reviews both by The New Yorker and The New Times. Further recital performances in 2013-14 saw him perform amongst others at Zurich's Tonhalle, the Berlin Philharmonie and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. The season also marked his debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He was Artist in Residence at the Kissinger Sommer as well as Preisträger in Residence at the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical, Levit's debut disc of the five last Beethoven sonatas won the BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year 2014 Award, the Royal Philharmonic Society's Young Artist Award 2014 and the ECHO 2014 for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music)/Piano. His second recording for Sony - Johann Sebastian Bach's Six Partitas - was released in August 2014.

Highlights of the 2012-13 season included debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Nominated by Laeiszhalle Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kölner Philharmonie and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden for the concert series "ECHO Rising Stars", Levit also debuted as a recitalist at Brussel's Palais des Beaux Arts, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Musikverein, Town Hall, Birmingham and Stockholm's Konserthus.

Levit has also appeared with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Vienna Symphonic Orchestra and the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover - engagements that were immediately followed by re-invitations. Having already dedicated eight sonatas of his cycle "Nano Sonaten" to Levit, Frederic Rzewski has composed a cycle of four pieces, "Dreams II," for Levit to premiere at Heidelberger Frühling in 2015. Among Levit's chamber music partners are Lisa Batiashvili, Simon Bode, Ning Feng, Julia Fischer, Sol Gabetta, Christiane Karg, Jörg Widmann, Maxim Vengerov and Tabea Zimmermann.

Born in Nizhni Nowgorod, Russia, in 1987, Igor Levit moved with his family to Germany when he was eight years old, where he completed his piano studies at Hannover Academy of Music, Theatre and Media, graduating with the highest academic and performance scores in the history of the institute. Levit has studied under the tutelage of Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Matti Raekallio, Bernd Goetze, Lajos Rovatkay and Hans Leygraf.

As the youngest participant in 2005 Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, Igor Levit won the Silver Prize, the prize for Best Performer of Chamber Music, the "Audience Favorite" prize and the prize for Best Performer of Contemporary Music. Previously, he won first prize at the International Hamamtsu Piano Academy Competition in Japan. Since 2003, Levit has been a scholarship student at Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Levit makes his home in Hannover.

About The Wallis

Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis") brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. With eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles, and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the US and around the globe. This fall marks The Wallis' second season, which also includes its prestigious "Arts & Ideas" series, conversations with guests from the realms of culture, literature and politics. Housed in a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA of Studio Pali Fekete architects, The Wallis celebrates the classic and the modern. This is reflected in the juxtaposition of the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, as well as a theater school for young people, and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these two structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for LA-area visitors and residents alike.

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