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One might not expect an album of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte ("Songs Without Words") from pianist Igor Levit, whose offerings generally run to Beethoven or to ambitious concept albums. However, a look at the graphics and its striking Star of David pendant indicates what is happening. Levit intends the album as a memorial for the October 7th attacks in Israel, after which he had struggled for some weeks. Says Levit: "I made this recording out of a very, very strong inner necessity. I spent the first four or five weeks after the attack on October 7th in a mixture of speechlessness and total paralysis. And at some point, it became clear that I had no other tools than to react as an artist. I have the piano. I have my music." Proceeds from the album will be donated to German organizations combating anti-Semitism. As for the music itself, Levit strikes a tone of remarkable gravity. Mendelssohn isn't usually his thing, and he says he chose the Lieder ohne Worte for a melancholy he found in them. He doesn't mention Mendelssohn's Jewish background, but it fits into his effort. The album ends with a Prelude by another Jewish composer, Charles-Valentin Alkan, that has quite a haunting effect. The Mendelssohn pieces are carefully controlled and sober. Even apart from the tragic circumstances that gave birth to it, this album is something of a landmark in the performance of Mendelssohn's piano music.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 19b (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 30 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 38 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 53 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 62 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Composer - Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Igor Levit, Piano, MainArtist - Charles Valentin Alkan, Composer - Andreas Neubronner, Producer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
One might not expect an album of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte ("Songs Without Words") from pianist Igor Levit, whose offerings generally run to Beethoven or to ambitious concept albums. However, a look at the graphics and its striking Star of David pendant indicates what is happening. Levit intends the album as a memorial for the October 7th attacks in Israel, after which he had struggled for some weeks. Says Levit: "I made this recording out of a very, very strong inner necessity. I spent the first four or five weeks after the attack on October 7th in a mixture of speechlessness and total paralysis. And at some point, it became clear that I had no other tools than to react as an artist. I have the piano. I have my music." Proceeds from the album will be donated to German organizations combating anti-Semitism. As for the music itself, Levit strikes a tone of remarkable gravity. Mendelssohn isn't usually his thing, and he says he chose the Lieder ohne Worte for a melancholy he found in them. He doesn't mention Mendelssohn's Jewish background, but it fits into his effort. The album ends with a Prelude by another Jewish composer, Charles-Valentin Alkan, that has quite a haunting effect. The Mendelssohn pieces are carefully controlled and sober. Even apart from the tragic circumstances that gave birth to it, this album is something of a landmark in the performance of Mendelssohn's piano music.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:43:20
- Main artists: Igor Levit
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Sony Classical
- Genre: Classical
(P) 2023 Igor Levit, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment
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