Igor Levit to Release RESISTANCE Album on NO SILENCE RECORDS

Pianist Igor Levit will release a new album, Resistance, on his own label NO SILENCE RECORDS, in collaboration with Sony Classical, on October 23, 2026. The album pairs Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica, in Franz Liszt's piano transcription, with Arnold Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon, recorded with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under the direction of Antonello Manacorda. The spoken narration is performed by actress Dörte Lyssewski.

At the heart of the album lies the story of a profound disillusionment. Beethoven originally dedicated his Third Symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he admired as an embodiment of the ideals of liberty and progress. However, when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, Beethoven angrily scratched out his name from the title page. The Bonaparte Symphony became the Eroica, a work that continues to stand as a musical symbol of human determination and inner strength.

For Igor Levit, however, the symphony's heroism resides less in political figures than in Beethoven himself: 'Here is a man who is losing his hearing, who finds himself on the brink of suicide, and yet carries on. Through his art, Beethoven writes himself back into life.'

A key role in this story is played by Franz Liszt, whose piano transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies set new standards in the art of transcription. For Levit, Liszt's version of the Eroica is far more than a mere piano arrangement: 'In essence, he transforms the Eroica into an independent piano symphony.' The combination of orchestral power, technical challenge and visionary imagination makes the work one of the crowning achievements of the piano repertoire.

Set against Beethoven's revolutionary spirit is Arnold Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon. Composed in exile in 1942 in the United States, the work sets Lord Byron's condemnation of Napoleon while simultaneously turning its gaze towards the tyrant of Schoenberg's own time: Adolf Hitler. Having himself fled Nazi persecution, Schoenberg created a powerful musical manifesto against dictatorship and oppression.

The result is a program that examines ideals of heroism, the abuse of power and the moral imperative of resistance. Across more than a century, Beethoven, Liszt and Schoenberg enter into a dialogue that feels more relevant today than ever.

Album Details

Igor Levit – Resistance: Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' (Liszt Transcription) & Schoenberg: Ode to Napoleon

Kammerakademie Potsdam; Antonello Manacorda, conductor; Dörte Lyssewski, narrator

Release date: October 23, 2026 on NO SILENCE RECORDS / Sony Classical, available on CD and digital formats.