Igor Levit / »The People United«
2nd Hamburg International Music Festival
Music as protest
More imposing than Bach’s »Goldberg Variations«, more difficult than Beethoven’s »Diabelli Variations«: the cycle » The People United Will Never Be Defeated!« composed by American Frederic Rzewski, is famous for being almost unplayable. The piece is a pianistic tour de force, to be found on the latest recording of shooting star Igor Levit and which he now tackles live in this year’s music festival.
Rzewski’s hour-long masterpiece is made up of 36 variations, which build up from a simple march melody based on the protest song »El pueblo unido« (The United People), with which the Chilean population rebelled against the military dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s, to massive concentrations of sound. True to the work, Igor Levit will appear on this extraordinary solo evening not in the neo-classical Laeiszhalle, but in the cultural centre Fabrik in Hamburg-Altona. Following the concert, Levit’s reflections on the evening can be heard in a question and answer session.
Performers
Igor Levit piano
Programme
Frederic Rzewski
36 Variationen über das chilenische Lied »El pueblo unido jamás será vencido«
