The order is significant: citizen, European, pianist is what Igor Levit calls himself on his website. He doesn't want to be a musician in the first place, but part of the society he is committed to and has something to share with. The fact that he is an absolute star doesn't seem to matter to him: "My God, I'm listening to the music that's being created," he can wax eloquent about the distribution of roles between artist and audience, "and we share that with each other, completely non-hierarchically. If I lose faith in that, then I'll look for a new profession." He won't have to embark on that search anytime soon, because audiences appreciate him precisely for thinking beyond the music.
It's palpable in his concerts, even when he's not making a political statement. This time he takes on Rachmaninoff, the master of virtuosic keyboard mountains, but with Levit he draws up quite different sides - demonic, profound, fragile.
Text source and further information about this event: https://www.alteoper.de/de/programm/veranstaltung.php?id=521112085
