A rare event at Queen Elizabeth Hall invites the audience into a space where time, repetition, and silence converge.
Pianist Igor Levit will perform Erik Satie’s Vexations at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 24 and 25 April, in what is being described as a marathon of endurance and contemplation. Directed and co-devised by the renowned performance artist Marina Abramović, the concert is expected to last more than 16 hours, making it Levit’s first public performance of the work after his 2020 livestream during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Conceived as part of the Southbank’s Multitudes festival, the event marks a major intersection between contemporary performance art and classical music. Abramović described it in an interview with The Guardian as “a unique event. [The audience] will witness silence, endurance, immobility and contemplation, where time ceases to exist.”
A piece of minimalism before its time
Composed in 1893, Vexations consists of a single page of music—three variations of a short theme—that includes an instruction to repeat the sequence 840 times. Satie never specified instrumentation or tempo, though he annotated the score with a now-famous recommendation: “In order to play this motif 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities.”
The work was never performed during Satie’s lifetime and remained obscure until 1963, when John Cage organized the first known complete performance. Since then, it has been attempted both in relay formats—by multiple pianists—and as solo feats of stamina.
Levit’s 2020 performance, livestreamed from his Berlin studio, lasted 15 hours and 29 minutes, and was a gesture of solidarity with fellow artists during pandemic lockdowns. At the time, he described Vexations to The Guardian as “a retreat of silence and humility, reflecting a feeling of resistance.”
From livestream to stage
This week’s event marks a turning point in Levit’s relationship with Vexations. “This is chapter two,” he told The Guardian. “Maybe it’s going to be dreadful. Maybe I will realise that I can only do it alone. And maybe it’s going to be the most fantastic thing ever.”
Abramović has transformed the performance into a sculptural installation. The piano will sit on a modular platform that changes shape throughout the performance, with lighting effects by Urs Schönebaum and set design by David Amar. The audience is invited to attend for either the full duration or in hour-long slots, and mobile phones will be locked away, in line with Abramović’s signature approach to immersive experiences.
While Levit will remain on stage for the entire concert, practical measures have been put in place. His bench converts into a bed, and a privacy screen will be available if needed. Assistants on either side of the stage can offer refreshments or wipe his brow. As Abramović emphasised to The Guardian, “Igor will never leave the stage, ever.”
A ritual of presence
Levit sees the performance less as an artistic statement than as a necessity. “It’s not about reaching a goal. I’ve never cared for goals. I am a process person,” he told The Guardian. “And so my answer, from the bottom of my heart, is: because I can, and because I want to, and because I need it.”
Abramović described the performance as a study in being fully present. “If you start talking about how much time has passed, and how much time is in the future, you’ve lost the concept,” she told The Guardian. “Igor has to be there now, in the space where there is no time, and the public has to go into that space.”
For an audience willing to surrender to the moment, Vexations offers not only a glimpse into Satie’s most enigmatic score but also a profound redefinition of what it means to listen.
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