Yoav Levanon
This winter, the Pianissimo Piano Festival will present the brightest talents of contemporary piano in the halls of the State Hermitage. On December 25, Yoav Levanon, 17-year-old Israeli virtuoso will perform in a recital.
We learned about what a musician needs to be successful and why it’s imperative for even professionals to never stop learning.
IM: You got into music from a very young age. At what point did you realize that music was your calling? Even as a profes- sional, do you continue to learn?
YL: I started piano studies at 3. Competing at 5 and perform- ing on stage, I already knew that I was very passion- ate about it. I started performing with Orchestras at 7. At 8 I performed with “Moscow Virtuosi” and maestro Vladimir Spivakov. After performing Chopin 1st concerto in San-Carlo, Italy, at 11, it was obvious for me that this is what I want to do in my life. For me, there is no life with- out music and my life is centered around my passion for piano and music.
I will always continue to learn. When you stop learn- ing it means that you do not develop yourself. There will always be something new to explore and to learn.
IM: The program which you will perform at the Pianissimo Fes- tival does not include works by Russian composers. Do you like Russian music? Who could you single out among Rus- sian composers? Do you have favorite pieces among Rus- sian classics?
YL: Most of my recitals and orchestral performances in- cluded pieces of Russian composers, such as Rach- maninov, Scriabin, Medtner, Tchaikovsky and others. Of course I like Russian music and Russian composers!
I would never single out a specific composer. I like them all and they are very different. I do not try to compare composers and pieces. I find the beauty and the unique- ness in each composer and in each piece.
At the Pianissimo Festival, I open with two great piec- es, from my recently recorded album, with Warner Clas- sics, that will be released next spring. I continue witha modern sonata that will capture the audience ‘less pre- pared’ to what they are going to hear. And the concert ends, as we are in a day of celebration (Christmas), with Jazzy Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
For me it is always important to think of a concept and a certain journey that the audience will experience when I create my programs. I feel free not being commit- ted to perform specific composers or pieces but trying to create a kind of ‘journey’ experience for the listener.
IM: A Music by contemporary composers is rarely performed in Russia. Your program includes a sonata by Carl Vine. What made you choose this particular piece?
YL In this particular sonata I found many interesting ele- ments that made people who heard it, even if they may not necessarily be big fans of contemporary music, say that they liked it and connected to it. When I imagine this piece in the sequence, among the other pieces of the recital, I believe that it will have a special contribution to the enrichment of the ‘journey’ that the audience will experience.
IM Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which is also included in the program, is widely known in its orchestral version. You will perform its adaptation. Would you like to perform it with an orchestra and do you like playing with an or- chestra? Why?
YL I performed the Rhapsody in Blue, this summer, in Gene- va, with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) and maestro Jonathan Nott.
Performing with an Orchestra is a marvelous experi- ence! Orchestral compositions always fascinate me. Be- ing part of it, having the interaction with the Orchestra and the conductor is amazing. It makes you be a part of something that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.
IM Previously, world stages were for winners of music compe- titions. Today, it is not necessary to participate in compe- titions to become famous. What, in your opinion, should be included in the success criteria of today’s pianists?
YL For me, the most important thing is to be creative enough to have your own unique approach, style and way of ex- pression. This is very complex, when, as a pianist, who performs pieces written by different composers, you should strive to play the music in a way that reflects the composer’s wishes and personality. Yet, with that being said, the great pianists had always been successful in developing their own approach, sound, style and way of interpreting the pieces of great composers.