Berlin (AFP)
German pianist Igor Levit started an exceptional 20-hour concert on Saturday during which he will play a unique work by Erik Satie to draw attention to the plight of artists affected by the coronavirus pandemic, noted the AFP.
The concert, broadcast since 2 p.m. local time (12 p.m. GMT), notably on the Russian artist's Twitter account, is "a silent cry" launched while the culture sector has been almost shut down since the start of New coronavirus pandemic, he said in a statement announcing the event.
"My world and that of my colleagues has been different from the one before for many weeks and should remain so for a long time", also underlined Igor Levit, gladly presented by the media as one of the greatest contemporary pianists to only 33 years old.
From a Berlin music studio, the artist must play without interruption "Vexations" by Erik Satie whose "the few notes - one theme and two variations - are on one page" but are repeated 840 times.
"The work reflects a feeling of resistance, and that is why it seems important to play the Vexations now," he added.
"I cannot guarantee that I will bring this to a conclusion (the concert). Who knows? Maybe at some point I will collapse. But I know that I will be different at the end" of this performance, a he also admitted in an interview at Der Spiegel.
Since mid-March, Igor Levit has given "home concerts" almost broadcast live on Twitter almost every night.
Also known in particular for his commitment against anti-Semitism, Igor Levit revealed at the end of 2019 that he was the target of a death threat during a concert in a city in southern Germany. He wanted to keep this concert framed by heavy security measures.
He then expressed his fear, "not for me but for this country. My country" marked by a resurgence of anti-Semitic acts, said the man of Russian origin and arrived as a child in Germany.
© 2020 AFP