Ove Andsness

The first chapter of an exciting new recording project. The portrait of a master composer at the top of his game. Exploring two of the most remarkable, creative and game-changing years in music history: 1785 & 1786.

Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtil touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. He was a pioneer for being the first home-trained superstar pianist to have emerged from Norway. This box is the story of a 20-year partnership that has yielded a rich seam of recorded treasures, first for Virgin and then for EMI. Running through this cornucopia of 34 albums (36 CDs), we find recurring themes: Grieg (Andsnes even recorded some Lyric Pieces on the composer’s own piano at Troldhaugen), Nordic music in general, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Schubert.

This disc received the 2000 Gramophone magazine award for "Best Concerto Recording." It also received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)." Franz Joseph Haydn made numerous contributions to the world of music. However, for a composer of his stature, he did not delve much into the realm of piano concertos. Of the 14 attributed to him, eight are probably the work of other composers. The three Haydn piano concertos on this album are all the more delightful for their rarity and beauty.

This performance of the Piano Concerto won't be to everyone's taste. Leif Ove Andsnes, who has a decided point of view on the music, plays with his emphasis on the lyrical aspects of the music. He could obviously play the heroic outbursts of the first movement as strongly as he wants to, but he downplays them somewhat to keep them in context. You can get more excitement in other places, but only Curzon and Moravec have made this concerto such a poetic, emotional experience. Simon Rattle and the orchestra second Andsnes's viewpoint very convincingly. The Intermezzi, already elegiac in tone, are particularly affecting as Andsnes plays them; this "bonus" could easily be worth the price of the disc.

This 1990 disc featuring Grieg's Piano Concerto and Liszt's Second Piano Concerto, with six of Grieg's Lyric Pieces for solo piano, was Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes' big label debut as a soloist. It was a smash, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Andsnes has gone on to one of the most successful careers of any pianist of his generation. Hearing the performances in this un-remastered reissue, it's easy to understand why: Andsnes is a fire-eater of a piano player.

A rare jewel among the piano repertoire, Dvorák's Poetic Tone Pictures, a cycle of piano solo works, is mostly unknown to the public. Following the great success of his Sibelius album in 2017, Leif Ove Andsnes once again brings lesser known piano music into the spotlight, delivering a treasure chest of accessible and romantic tunes performed with artistic brilliance. With his commanding technique and searching interpretations, Leif Ove Andsnes has won worldwide acclaim, performing in the world's leading concert halls and with it's foremost orchestras. An avid chamber musician, he is also the founding director of Norway's Rosendal Chamber Music Festival.

Mozart Momentum 1785 is the first of two releases on which pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra are exploring the remarkable years of 1785/86 in W.A. Mozart's life. It includes piano concertos Nos 20-22, the Piano Quartet in G minor, Masonic Funeral Music and Fantasia in C minor for solo piano.