They didn’t have much time to practice, but what Renault Capucon and Igor Levitt managed to do in a short time and put them on stage at Haus für Mozart on Tuesday night turned into a huge success at the Salzburg Festival. Levitt stood in place of Martha Argerich, who was ill, at short notice.
After Renaud Capucon and Martha Argerich celebrated a great moment in chamber music at the last summer of the festival, the soloists wanted to repeat this success and also celebrate Argerich’s 80th birthday musician in Salzburg. But then the sad news followed last Friday: the pianist had to cancel the concert due to illness. The clock was ticking. Who would be able to intervene equally in just five days? The Salzburg Festival didn’t have to search for long and basically didn’t have to leave his home, because Jack of all professions is currently hosted in Salzach, who is very happy to make the impossible possible: Igor Levitt.
The unexpected often happens: the tracks of Capucon and Levit have already crossed in Salzburg last year, but only behind the stage. The pianist listened to the concert with Argerich in the audience and probably did not think about taking her place a year later. Through a modified program (Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven), the two men performed together for the first time on Tuesday.
Since Levitt gave his solo concert at the Salzburg Festival last weekend, there’s little time left to exercise. Understandably, this is why Schubert’s sonata for violin and piano were treated more carefully with each other, spun first and felt for each other. Above all, Levitt was surprisingly careful in all four moves, while Kabucon pressed the gas a little more aggressively. In Brahms Sonata No. 2, the two found a common groove between them, which should also have enhanced the strongly intertwined composition of the two sounds.
After passing the acid test and the break, the fun finally came with Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata”. Dedicated to the sonata, violinist Rudolf Kreutzer, of the same name, declared Beethoven’s works unplayable and never played them himself. Indeed, Beethoven faced a number of challenges for his violinist, but it was in these challenges that Rhino Capucon found the greatest joy. He got into the passion-filled polyphonic single, played sharp chords and danced with Levitt in Presto Tarantella. Levitt, who already had a strong connection to Beethoven’s piano literature, clearly enjoyed the dynamics of the movements. By jumping in, every impression was eventually forgotten. Arm in arm, the two soloists let the audience cheer and even applaud once again for the reappearance.
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