Thomas Mann House | 7 p.m. (PT)

The Thomas Mann House is hosting a special conversation between Honorary Thomas Mann Fellow, world renowned pianist Igor Levit and interviewer Paul Holdengraber.


"In times of crisis, we must all decide again and again whom we love."
- Frank O'Hara, Meditations in an Emergency

And so what now? In these times of crisis, who do we turn to, and what do we turn towards? Who do we love, who are still our friends?
In a wide-ranging conversation, punctuated by surprise musical interludes, Honorary Thomas Mann Fellow Igor Levit, prompted by Paul Holdengraber's questions and quotations, will discuss in what ways the world in disarray around us enters into the concert hall and on to the black and white keys of the piano.

Does a life devoted to art, the life of a world-famous pianist, shield or mitigate the crisis felt all around us? Does playing the piano offer solace, a refuge, a recalibration of the chaos outside? In these uncertain times, Levit brings his doubts, anxieties, broken ideals and desire for joy into play at the Thomas Mann House.

Attendance by invitation only.

Participants

Paul Holdengräber is an interviewer, curator of public curiosity, and was the Founding Executive Director of Onassis Los Angeles (OLA). Prior he was Founder and Director of The New York Public Library’s LIVE from the NYPLcultural series where he interviewed and hosted over 600 events, including interviews with Patti Smith, Wes Anderson, Mike Tyson, Werner Herzog and many more. Before his tenure at the library, he was the Founder and Director of The Institute for Art & Cultures at the LACMA. He holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Princeton University. In 2003, the French Government named him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and then promoted him in 2012 to the rank of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. In 2010, The President of Austria awarded him the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art.

Igor Levit, born in Nizhny Novgorod, moved to Germany with his family at the age of eight. He completed his piano studies at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. In the spring of 2019, he was appointed professor of piano at his alma mater. Since the spring of 2022, Igor Levit has been co-artistic director of the Heidelberger Frühling international music festival. The New York Times describes Igor Levit as one of the "most important artists of his generation," while the Süddeutsche Zeitung calls him a "stroke of luck" for today's concert scene. For his “house concerts” as a sign of hope and public spirit, as well as for his fight against anti-Semitism, Igor Levit was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in the fall of 2020. Together with Georg Diez, Igor Levit is an Honorary Fellow of the Thomas Mann House.