In 2015 an Italian critic wrote in glowing terms about a young pianist she had just heard. “[His] style of piano playing is bewildering: it’s filled with both a rare sensitivity and a rigorous technique … His style can be compared to that of the legendary Arthur Rubinstein.” His name was Yoav Levanon and he was 11 years old.
Now 17, the Israeli prodigy makes his UK debut at St Martin-in-the-Fields on March 19, and releases his first album, on Warner Classics, in May. The London recital includes two hugely challenging romantic masterpieces on the CD, Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Schumann’s Fantasy in C Op. 17, plus works by Mendelssohn and Gershwin. If the buzz is to be believed, it promises to be a memorable evening.
Levanon has grown up in rural Israel, one of four children; he cherishes an early memory of running through a strawberry field opposite the family house. Speaking via computer from the living room, he looks younger than 17, with flowing hair in Franz Liszt style, but not too young to live and breathe music, talking about it with infectious enthusiasm.
His mother is a professional musician, his father a keen amateur jazz saxophonist. “There was an upright piano in our house,” he remembers, “and I wanted to try it.” He was three. “For me it was like magic to press the keys and receive this sound from it. After some time, my parents thought rather than just playing random notes, I should have lessons, so they took me to a teacher. From there, everything just grew organically.” That included winning his first competition aged five.
Yoav Levanon (c) Nir Slakman (2)
Yoav Levanon
Recently he has studied with some of today’s greatest pianists: András Schiff, Murray Perahia and Daniel Barenboim. “The day before meeting Barenboim, I was talking with a girl who had the chance to play to him and she said, ‘He’s going to be tough – you’ll see’. But I try to keep an open mind, so I just went in – and he was super-nice to me. It was really fun working with him. I had a great time.” He enjoys exploring these mentors’ varied approaches: “My method is to get a lot of different visions which enrich me, and then, eventually, to find my own way.”
He’s been home-schooled since seventh grade. “That’s been a lifesaver, because I’ve managed to do school, I’ve managed to have my career and I also have time for my friends. And now I’ve got friends all over the world.” He now has, he says, “the ability to connect with people that share the same values and interests, wherever they are”.
Levanon enjoys his Jewish roots: “I had a barmitzvah and I do like to keep the traditions and the family gatherings.” Israeli army service, he says, is a non-starter. “I have some health problems, so they’d automatically kick me out. But obviously I will find other ways to give something back to my country.”
The pandemic has been a major interruption, but otherwise he hasn’t lacked international engagements. He has already played in top-level festivals: Verbier in Switzerland, Riga Jurmala in Latvia and the Kissinger Sommer in Germany, as well as performing concertos with orchestras including the Suisse-Romande, Santa Cecilia and at home in Haifa. He has given recitals alongside the legendary Martha Argerich at Schloss Elmau in Germany, in Munich and at the Jerusalem Music Centre, to name but a few.
Juggling music and schoolwork isn’t always easy (he has exams this year) but he has no doubt about his future. “I’d always try to stay modest and authentic, telling my story and truly giving something I found valuable myself. I’d always try to keep on improving. And I want to keep on playing to many people in many places, because it’s what I love to do: sharing my passion for music.”
