Ove Andsness

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.

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.

Leif Ove Andsnes and Antonio Pappano deliver full-bodied and intelligently detailed readings of Rachmaninov’s first two concertos that rightly project the composer’s virtuosic keyboard writing and scintillating orchestration on equal footing. EMI’s vivid engineering gives welcome yet never distracting presence to first-desk solos, rapid woodwind flurries, and sweeping brass counterpoints. It also captures a fair amount of heavy breathing from either the soloist or conductor. However, the Berlin Philharmonc strings beckon your primary attention, as Pappano inspires them to throb, sigh, and sing as if Leopold Stokowski had come back to life–although the heavy vibrato in the First concerto’s opening theme borders on Mantovani’s oleaginous turf.

The album Who We Are is the first studio recording of the collaboration between pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and saxophonist/composer Marius Neset. They are joined on the record by flautist Ingrid Softeland Neset and cellist Louisa Tuck. The music, composed by Neset, was recorded at Oslo's Rainbow Studio in the course of three days in December, 2023.

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.