LEVIT RETURNS: Nine years after he made his Princeton University Concerts debut, Igor Levit comes back to do a mini-residency October 30-November 3.

Nine years after his Princeton University Concerts (PUC) debut, pianist Igor Levit returns to PUC on Wednesday, October 30 through Sunday, November 3 for a mini-residency bookended by live performances, with a screening of the documentary Igor Levit: No Fear at the Princeton Garden Theatre in the intervening days.

On Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium, Levit will play a solo recital program encompassing J.S. Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903, Johannes Brahms Ballades, Op. 10, and Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 arranged for piano solo by Franz Liszt.

On Sunday, November 3 at 3 p.m., also at Richardson Auditorium, Levit will appear on PUC’s Healing with Music series in a program entitled “Igor Levit: Pianist and Advocate for Change” hosted by journalist Deborah Amos. In a conversation that includes live performance, he will speak about his experience performing amidst antisemitic death threats and his commitment to using his platform to address on social issues, including climate change and fascism.

Beyond his contributions to the field of classical music, Levit often speaks out on social and political issues. He is politically active on his social media channels; is a frequent guest on prominent European talk shows; has played at the national convention in Germany, at demonstrations on behalf of social inclusion, and at forests protesting deforestation; dedicated his albums to social causes; created a living room concert series on Twitter during lockdown, and more. His commitment to using his platform and artistry for the betterment of the world has earned him the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights, Statue B of the International Auschwitz Committee, and Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Visit puc.princeton.edu or call (609) 258-9220 for tickets.

On Saturday, November 2 at 1 p.m., the Princeton Garden Theatre will screen the fly-on-the-wall documentary Igor Levit: No Fear. The film follows Levit from the final recordings of his Beethoven piano sonata cycle and into the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, when public music-making stopped and Levit gave a series of concerts from his apartment in Berlin. Tickets are $14 general, $9 students, and $12 for Garden Theatre members and PUC Deluxe Subscribers. Tickets are available at puc.princeton.edu or by calling the Princeton Garden Theatre at (609) 279-1999.

“Levit’s residency with us gives audiences a chance to get to know this remarkable artist from several angles,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “His visit is part of our mission to provide varied and personal ways for audiences to connect to the music and artists on our series. Over the four days that Igor Levit is with us, people will get to know his incredible artistry, and how he uses his platform as one of the truly great pianists living today to make sense of his own relationship to the world.”