Igor Levit was born in 1987 in Gorky, Russia (now Nizhny Novgorod) and moved to Germany with his family at the age of eight. He studied at the Hanover Academy of Music and was the youngest participant in the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in 2005, winning the silver prize. In spring 2019 he was appointed professor for piano at the Hanover University of Music, Theatre and Media. His highly-acclaimed recording of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas was awarded the Gramophone 2020 Artist of the Year as well as the Opus Klassik in 2020. He was Musical America's Recording Artist of the Year 2020, and in November 2020 he was nominated for a Grammy in the category 'Best Classical Instrumental Solo'.

Florian Zinnecker is a journalist and the deputy desk manager of Die Zeit.