Igor Levit: Bach, Brahms & Beethoven by Bach, J. S., Brahms, Beethoven, Nuo (2024/2024), Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

Enjoy an evening that unites dazzling pianism and evocative romanticism in the hands of one of today’s most compelling performers, Igor Levit. He opens with JS Bach’s Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, which offers a dazzling display of intricate keyboard writing. Brahms’ Ballades Op.10, virtually songs without words, begin with the composer translating a poem of gothic horror, ‘Edward, Edward’, into pure music, rugged and elementally powerful. Finally Levit’s piano takes over the role of a full orchestra in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, in Franz Liszt’s virtuoso transcription. Beethoven carries us to the heart of the countryside he loved, his music celebrating fresh air, birdsong and a ferocious thunderstorm before concluding in a joyous hymn of thanksgiving.