Igor Levit, Piano

Friday, February 19, 2016 | 8:00 pm

Baldwin Auditorium

Twenty-eight-year-old Russian-born pianist Igor Levit has experienced a meteoric rise over the last twelve months. His debut recording for Sony Classical boldly tackled the final three Beethoven sonatas, a rare undertaking for such a young artist. The New Yorker’s Alex Ross said of the recordings, “I was transfixed. Here was playing of technical brilliance, tonal allure, and intellectual drive.”

Levit’s program spans two centuries, beginning with Bach’s Partita No. 4 from the composer’s last — and most technically demanding — set of keyboard suites. Levit then turns to the 19th century with Schubert’s complete Moments Musicaux and Beethoven’s stormy early sonata op. 31, no. 2. The evening concludes with Prokofiev’s politically charged Sonata op. 83. Written in 1942 in response to his close friend’s murder at the hands of Stalin’s Secret Police, it ranks among Prokofiev’s most subversive and celebrated works for piano.

Program