Encounter

'The new album ENCOUNTER by IGOR LEVIT will be released on 11 September on Sony Classical. A very personal double album marked by a desire for encounter and togetherness. The program includes rarely played arrangements of Bach and Brahms by Ferruccio Busoni and Max Reger, as well as Palais de Mari – Morton Feldman’s final work for piano.
Igor Levit’s double album “Encounter” seeks sounds that give inner strength and support for the soul. In works by Bach to Max Reger, based on poignant vocal compositions, the desire for encounters and human togetherness is given expression – at a time when isolation is the order of the day. The result is a very personal recital.
The 33-year-old once again steps beyond the limits of pure piano repertoire: in the Busoni transcriptions of Bach’s chorale preludes and the late Brahms, which are rarely heard as complete cycles, Levit assumes the role of an organist who fills vast church spaces. In Johannes Brahms’s Vier ernste Gesänge, he lends instrumental eloquence to overcoming the torments of fearing death. On the other hand, the gentle shimmer produced from its very few notes makes Morton Feldman's extremely quiet work for piano, Palais de Mari (1986), the epitome of a sensuous, transcendental realm of possibilities.
The repertoire presented by Levit here reflects the album’s title. The works create a community of experience for many individuals forced to maintain distance from one another. They establish contact with religious and inward spirituality. In addition, the inner connections between the composers and their respective aesthetics make “Encounter” a journey offering astonishing discoveries, even on ostensibly familiar terrain.
“The restricted isolation in the weeks since mid-March 2020 was often difficult for me too. As an artist, however, I have never felt so free, so open in my life as on those days when I often only decided half an hour before the live stream what I would play in my house concerts,” reports Igor Levit. The complete absence of routine concert activity also had its positive sides: “Being able to make music without any compulsion and spontaneously choosing works in which all questions about love and death, loneliness and the possibility of real love for others are examined, has given my piano playing a level of freedom that I had never before experienced in this form.”

CD 1:

10 Chorale Preludes BV B 27 - Arranged By – Ferruccio BusoniComposed By – Johann Sebastian Bach

1. No. 1: Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist BWV 667 - Vivace Maestoso

2. No. 2: Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme BWV 645 - Allegretto Tranquillo

3. No. 3: Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland BWV 659 - Adagio

4. No. 4: Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen Gmein BWV 734 - Allegro

5. No. 5: Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 639 - Andante

6. No. 6: Herr Gott, Nun Schleuß Den Himmel Auf BWV 617 - Un Poco Agitato

7. No. 7a: Durch Adams Fall Ist Ganz Verderbt BWV 637 - Andante Mesto

8. No. 7b: Durch Adams Fall Ist Ganz Verderbt BWV 705 (App.B) - Fuga. Molto Sostenuto

9. No. 8: In Dir Ist Freude BWV 615 - Allegro Marcato

10. No. 9: Jesus Christus, Unser Heiland BWV 665 - Andante Non Troppo

6 Chorale Preludes BV B 50 - Arranged By – Ferruccio BusoniComposed By – Johannes Brahms

11. Herzlich Tut Mich Erfreuen Op. Posth. 122/4 - Andante Tranquillo

12. Schmücke Dich, O Liebe Seele OP. 122/5 - Andante, Quasi Adagio

13. Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen Op. 122/8 - Andantino

14. Herzlich Tut Mich Verlangen Op. 122/9 - Moderato Deciso

15. Herzlich Tut Mich Verlangen Op. 122/10 - Andante Tranquillo

16. O Welt, Ich Muss Dich Lassen Op. 122/11 - Solennemente. Molto Sostenuto

CD 2:

Vier Ernste Gesänge Op. 121 - Arranged By – Max RegerComposed By – Johannes Brahms

1. I. Denn Es Gehet Dem Menschen Wie Dem Vieh - Andante

2. II. Ich Wandte Mich Ab Und Sahe An Alle - Andante

3. III. O Tod, Wie Bitter Bist Du - Grave

4. IV. Wenn Ich Mit Menschen- Und Mit Engelszungen Redete - Andante Con Moto Ed Anima

5. Nachtlied Op. 138/3 - Ziemlich Langsam - Arranged By – Julian BeckerComposed By – Max Reger

6. Palais De Mari - Composed By – Morton Feldman