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For Gilmore award winner Igor Levit, life and art entwine

Credit Gordon Welters for The New York Times

A Russian-German pianist deeply interested in politics and human rights has won a major music prize, the the $300,000 Gilmore Artist Award.

He's not afraid to say what he thinks.

“What fascinates me about Igor is that art, life and politics are all one,” a close friend told The New York Times. “You have to understand suffering, the state of the world, in order to understand music.”

Brenda Tremblay has served as weekday morning host on WXXI Classical since 2009.