On April 24th and 25th, 2025, pianist Igor Levit will take on Erik Satie’s Vexations in a marathon performance at London’s Southbank Centre, directed by renowned conceptual artist Marina Abramović. The piece, one of the most enigmatic and demanding in classical music, requires 840 repetitions of a single motif, lasting over 16 hours.
Abramović, known for testing the limits of endurance in performance art, will shape the experience by gradually altering the space around Levit, drawing the audience into an evolving meditation on time, resilience, and perception. This marks the duo’s second collaboration, following their 2015 performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, where audience members prepared in silence before the music began.
Levit first performed Vexations via live stream in 2020, reflecting on artistic endurance during the COVID-19 lockdown. Now, in a fully realized live setting, he describes the piece not as a test of suffering but as “a retreat of silence and humility.” Commissioned by the Southbank Centre, this event promises a rare intersection of music and performance art, inviting audiences to witness a transformative act of persistence and presence.
Don’t miss our interview with Marina Abramović and Michèle Lamy, where they delve into artistic freedom, the body as a medium, and the transformative power of failure in creativity.
