Igor Levit: I couldn’t live without that. I get the feeling you need that connection with an audience. Jon Wertheim: We sometimes think of musicians as– they don’t mind the isolation.

At odds with every piano teacher’s demand for perfect posture, it’s almost as if Levit is physically becoming part of the music he is conjuring.

A typically glowing review described the performance as “fiery,” “magical,” and “elegant.” Take a look at how Levit curls over his instrument. Here he is inside London’s Royal Albert Hall, for the opening at The Proms in 2017, one of the oldest and most anticipated festivals on the concert calendar. Igor Levit is, to mix musical genres, a rock star. As Igor Levit plays in a new way to a new audience, he has reached a conclusion: music is not an extravagance, but a life necessity. But lately, as the pandemic mutes and muffles so much music, Levit’s performances have been mostly streaming over Twitter from his Berlin living room. In line for a Grammy later this month, Levit is 33 and already among the brightest stars in the classical music cosmos. When the German pianist, Igor Levit was selected as the featured soloist of the Nobel Prize ceremony last month, it marked yet another grace note in a career that’s quickly grown filled with awards and honors.

The pianist tells Jon Wertheim about finding an audience during the pandemic, speaking out against antisemitism, and understanding Beethoven with the help of Eminem. Igor Levit: The classical music star streaming performances from his living room

60 minutes music prodigy