Yoav Levanon and Daniel Oren perform at the San Carlo Theatre
Thursday night, in the glistening lights of the crowded San Carlo theatre, the evening started off with a little bit of natural prejudice: after all, an enfant prodige was about to perform on the stage in front of the Naples people – the same audience that asked Mozart to remove his ring believing it was the cause of his extraordinary talent. The public can hardly imagine a prodigious pianist, and some even doubt that it’s a child. In reality, the prevalent question everybody is asking, despite the lack of originality, concerns his technical ability: “How can a 11-year-old kid play Chopin?”
The lights fade to dark, and all doubts are forgotten: he truly is a child. He is elegant, well mannered, with savant-like posture, escorted by a genius mentor. They both show very little emotion. Yoav Levanon and Daniel Oren start playing the marvelous concert n° 1 in minor mi for piano and orchestra written by Chopin. Behind Yoav, the San Carlo orchestra accompanies melodiously the virtuous score, animated by an outstanding grand piano Steinway. Despite his young age, Yoav is conscious of the performance: there isn’t only technique here, not mere execution. Yoav is aware of the intense atmosphere that music creates, and he masters the keyboard with confidence and daintiness. He is aware of the emotional power of this concert, as well as of the fact of being its executor tonight. We are witnessing a musician whose artistic sensitivity is mature. His version of Chopin is not only virtuoso, but also poetic, delicate, and it exhibits characteristics of pure sublime. The young virtuoso performs with freshness and maturity at the same time; his feelings seep through the music. Yoav is an artist that stands out because of his natural and transparent emotions. His feelings are palpable, alive, wrapped in a total surrender to the music like only a child could do.
The first part of the concert ends in a total triumph for the prodigious pianist, who salutes the San Carlo theatre with an encore of the paraphrases of the Rigoletto by Liszt.
06 December 2015 Francesco Russo