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Igor Levit needs only one hand to conjure Herbst Theatre meeting of minds and souls / San Francisco Chronicle

Pianist Igor Levit needed only one hand, in the opening piece of his solemn, deeply felt recital at the Herbst Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 1, to conjure a meeting of musical minds and souls. With his performance of the famous Chaconne from Bach's Violin Partita No. 2, in Brahms' arrangement for the left hand alone, this fearless 31-year-old Russian-born artist put himself in a probing, intimate conversation with both the Bach original and Brahms' prismatic interpretation. From the meditative statement of the opening subject to a throbbing bass pattern, desperate runs and hovering chords, the Chaconne emerged in a sheath of new light and shadow.

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