Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Igor Levit moved to Germany with his family at the age of eight. He completed his piano studies at Musikhochschule Hannover with the highest score in the history of the institute. His teachers included Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Matti Raekallio, Bernd Goetzke, Lajos Rovatkay, and Hans Leygraf.
Igor Levit was the youngest participant in the 2005 International Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, where he won the silver medal, the special prize for chamber music, the audience prize, and the special prize for best performance of contemporary pieces. In spring 2019, he was appointed professor of piano at his alma mater, the University of Music, Theater, and Media Hanover.
For his political commitment, Igor Levit has been awarded the Fifth International Beethoven Prize in 2019, followed by his receipt of the “Statue B” from the International Auschwitz Committee in January 2020.
His 53 live house concerts, Twitter-streamed during the lockdown in spring 2020, garnered a worldwide audience, offering a sense of community and hope in a time of isolation and desperation. In October 2020, Igor Levit was recognized with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Here is Mr. Levit. Enjoy!
