The People united

“Bregenz Spring” with a world premiere

Star pianist Igor Levit played in Bregenz on Saturday.

(Bild: felix broede)

Large crowds and standing ovations: the conclusion of Bregenz Spring 2024 with the world premiere of the music-ballet production "The People united" was outstanding.

It should be noted that the music, the one-hour work of variations on a Chilean protest song, was premiered in the USA in 1976 and that star pianist Igor Levit, who played live on stage in Bregenz, presented the remarkable work as a concert in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie in 2016 and also recorded it on CD.

Powerful cycle of variations
"El pueblo unido jamàs sera vencido" - "The people united cannot be defeated" is the title of the song, which unfortunately achieved nothing against the Pinochet dictatorship, but on whose beautiful melody the composer Frederic Rzewski built a powerful cycle of variations. For the most part, "The People united" remains in the tonal range, but occasionally uses special playing techniques or vocal sounds.

The continuous hour-long work would be a challenge in terms of strength alone, which Igor Levit masters admirably, but he offers much more. For example, a wonderfully singing touch or the most delicate melodies, especially when he is alone on the dark stage towards the end. Prior to this, he has built up powerful sound developments, never abandoning the organic flow of energy and yet adding dramatic accents where necessary.

Not just a piano recital
A fantastic performance that could easily have been enjoyed on its own. However, the addition of the ballet certainly appealed to audiences who would not have attended a piano-only evening and would therefore hardly have been touched by the vision of unity that is so dear to Igor Levit's heart.

Choreographer Richard Siegal and his twelve dancers from the "Ballet of Difference" do not create any scenic events in this world premiere in Bregenz, and that is a good thing. Instead, they trace the energetic currents of the music in a very subtle, but also extremely lively way. Sometimes it is just a few dancers, rarely the whole company, who remain largely within the movement repertoire of classical dance in Flora Miranda's contemporary, imaginative costumes, but also question it in a subtle way. Just as the music played by Igor Levit suggests.