Pianist
Igor Levit has specialized in thematic programs that offer unusual depth and reach.
Tristan is no exception, exploring the ramifications of
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with a few generally relevant premonitions from
Liszt. The centerpiece, occupying most of the first disc, is
Hans Werner Henze's six-movement Tristan, a concerto of sorts for piano, electronic tape (remember that? soon it is going to require its own historical instrument specialists), and orchestra. This bristly work will be tough going for some, but its connections of mood and ethos to
Wagner are clear enough. Still, it might have been more effective at the end of the program than at the beginning; the three pieces on the second half of the program could have built up to it.
Wagner makes an appearance in an arrangement of the Tristan Prelude by
Zoltán Kocsis, and there is a 27-minute rendition of the Adagio from
Mahler's unfinished Symphony No. 10, the work in which
Mahler's debt to
Wagner is at its clearest. One may wonder what the point of arranging
Mahler for piano is, but the heroic quality of this performance fits
Levit's general style. There is a lot on this album that is extreme, but it is arguably extremity of the best kind. ~ James Manheim