Igor Levit

Bach at the height of his powers. That is what the Goldberg Variations represents. An overwhelmingly beautiful masterpiece, compositionally elaborate and with an intense emotional depth. At its heart is the bass line of the opening aria, which with the use of contrapuntal techniques reappears in a new form thirty times over. Right at the end, the aria goes back to the beginning, identical and yet after all that has happened in between, totally different. One of the most poignant, emotionally charged moments in the whole of keyboard literature! As it was composed for a two-manual harpsichord, its performance on a modern grand is always a finger-breaking tour de force. But not for Igor Levit, who at the age of 31 is already one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century. A big musical personality full of contagious energy, serving and honouring a higher force: Music.