IIt is a testament to Igor Levit's status that he could sell out Wigmore Hall weeks in advance with a program of Brahms's complete works. The event seemed to almost justify the intense pre-concert scramble for returns. This was a wonderful evening of pianism.
When Brahms embarked on his remarkable composing career in 1892, he was 59 years old, not particularly old, but his four late piano pieces had an almost irresistible melancholy to them. It suggests either heartbreak or recognition of his own mortality. (And, in fact, he had five years left to live.) Traversing such often inward-looking work presents a particular challenge.
Levitt's brooding frame drapes over the coffin-like black piano, and he plays off the sombre expression with an understated act of focused communion. He also does variety shows. His conducting technique is muscular yet flexible, well-suited to the E-flat major Rhapsody that concludes the Four Clavierstücke Op. 119 and the intense mood changes of the Capriccio flanking the Seven Fantasias Op. 116. I did. But for the most part, this was quite poetic. To convey the spirit of these deeply personal statements, Levitt moved his body and soul in his performance.
Take, for example, the melancholy sarabande with Hungarian intonation that underpins the A minor intermezzo in Opus 116. Levitt distills every drop of beauty through four minutes of eventless introspection. Here, as throughout, his sense of rubato was bold but always on point. The first of the three intermezzos, Op 117 – a folk lullaby with a hint of Scotch snap – was another gem. Levit's touch was like the deepest velvet, giving the music a kind of pain that was at once peaceful and infinitely sad. There was something intensely private about the music-making here, with no heavy-handed theatricality. He felt it was a privilege to eavesdrop.
This was a recital where everything was on point, every phrase considered, every sound given its proper weight and color. Equally impressive was the way Leavitt stitched together these sometimes disparate parts to convey a compelling architectural whole. Finally, Artistic Director John Gilhooly appeared on stage to present the prestigious award. wigmore medalrarely feels more deserved than this.
