Winner of prestigious Gilmore Artist Award, Levit gives an all-Beethoven solo recital culminating in “Waldstein” sonata

DACAMERA presents the first Houston appearance by famed German-Jewish pianist Igor Levit, in an all-Beethoven solo recital, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., at Wortham Center.

The New York Times describes Levit as one of the “most important artists of his generation”; the New Yorker calls him a pianist “like no other.” An astounding virtuoso with deep intellectual insights, Levit provides fresh, compelling interpretations of Beethoven’s sonatas.

Born in Novgorod, Russia, and now living in Berlin, Levit was named Gramophone’s 2019 “Artist of the Year” following the release of his complete 32 Beethoven sonatas. Levit also received the Gilmore Artist Award, presented every four years and one of the world’s most generous and prestigious prizes, conferred for “extraordinary pianistic artistry.”

More than simply a virtuoso, Levit won the International Beethoven Award for Human Rights, Peace, Freedom, Fight against Poverty, and Inclusion, an annual humanitarian and cultural prize presented by the Beethoven Academy in Bonn, Germany.

“Racism, antisemitism, anti-feminism and hostility to human beings are dangerous, often life-threatening and deplorable attitudes. They do not deserve to be jazzed up to the status of legitimate opinions,” Levit said.

His 53 Twitter-streamed, live house concerts during the COVID pandemic in 2020 garnered a worldwide audience, offering a sense of community and hope in a time of isolation and desperation. A strong supporter of Israel, Levit organized a solidarity concert in Berlin, “Against Silence,” in November 2023, to protest antisemitism.

DACAMERA presents Levit’s first Houston appearance as part of his Beethoven sonata cycle world tour, from European capitals to Carnegie Hall – a rare chance to hear this outstanding artist in Houston. His thrilling program offers a dramatic selection of sonatas, closing with perhaps the most virtuosic of all – “Waldstein.”

DACAMERA presents Igor Levit, Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. Tickets are available at dacamera.com or by phone at 713-524-5050.