FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
CD1
Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor D 958
Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major D 959
CD2
Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat D 960
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major D 850
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
About the album
Commencing 2nd March 2008, Leif Ove Andsnes embarks on a major 22 city solo recital tour which sees him perform in Arhus, Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, London, Prague, Paris, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Florence, Graz, Vienna, Brussels, Regensburg, Atlanta, Birmingham AL, Strathmore, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Works featured on this tour include selections from Bach: Toccata in E minor, BWV 914; Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op 27, No. 1 "quasi una fantasia"; Grieg: Ballade in G minor; Debussy: Preludes, selections from Books 1 and 2; Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958; Sibelius: select works (all dates and individual programmes are listed at the end of this release).
Leif Ove Andsnes will additionally accompany violinist Christian Tetzlaff on a further recital tour in May (Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Basel, Winterthur, Zaragoza, Alicante and San Sebastian).
Leif Ove Andsnes' last extensive European solo recital tour was in Spring 2006 and his performances at that time received extraordinary reviews marking him out as one of the leading pianists of today:
"The pianist Leif-Ove Andsnes illuminates the great romantic music ... With Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven, three composers which he carries off to a new level of crystalline and clean sound, earning him the reputation as one of the most admired pianists of his generation."
El Pais
"a round yet slim tone, pliant, almost culinary phrasing, a satin touch to the runs, a full range of colours. Wow: The man is born to play a Steinway."
Wiener Zietung
"Noblesse, mastership, purity and beauty of sound. Four words that describe the essence of Leif Ove Andsnes' piano-recital. The young Norwegian is one of the most interesting pianists of his generation."
Trouw
Coinciding with the solo recital tour EMI Classics will release a two-CD set featuring Schubert's three late great Piano Sonatas, D. 958, D. 959, and D. 960. Andsnes recorded the sonatas as part of his enthusiastically received series of Schubert recordings with English tenor Ian Bostridge, which featured pairings of performances of major solo piano works with select songs. Classics Today gave the initial release, featuring Schubert's epic B-flat Sonata, D. 960, its top rating and called it "One of the most perceptive, sensitively phrased, and technically cultivated interpretations of the sublime B-flat 'Opus Posthumous' sonata on disc." The album was also a Gramophone "Editor's Choice," which called the sonata performance "superb" and noted that, "Andsnes grows in stature as a performer with every disc."
Leif Ove Andsnes opened the 2007/08 season with the EMI Classics release Ballad for Edvard Grieg, a recording and DVD release to commemorate the centenary of the death of Norway's most famous composer. Andsnes plays Grieg's stormy Ballade in G minor on both the album and film, and performs the work frequently as part of his Spring recital programme.
The music of Edvard Grieg has long been a cornerstone of Leif Ove Andsnes's career; his recordings of the composer's Lyric Pieces for solo piano and the Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons were Gramophone Award winners in 2002 and 2004 respectively. For Andsnes, the Ballade captures the dual nature of Grieg and his tumultuous emotional life perhaps better than any other work penned by the composer, and he says that following the composer's footsteps for the documentary has greatly influenced his approach to performing the Ballade:
"This work was written in Bergen during Grieg’s midlife crisis; both his parents had recently died, sending him into a long period of depression during which he strove to find his musical direction. Following the early success of his piano concerto, which had propelled him to fame, Grieg had long aspired to write larger-scale solo piano pieces that would continue this success. The Ballade was the eventual outcome but it is in a very different vein from the earlier effervescence of the piano concerto. One can hear in this piece his resignation, melancholy, and anger ? an anger that is almost barbaric towards the end. Yet there are also moments of unbelievable beauty, which, in its grandeur and greatness, make it one of his richest pieces."
In February 2008 EMI Classics release the second in a series of Mozart Piano Concertos in which Leif Ove Andsnes performs with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. This release features vividly contrasting works: the ebullient Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major (K.453) and the stormily dramatic Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor (K.466).
Andsnes' previous Mozart recording with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, featuring the composer’s Piano Concertos Nos. 9 and 18, was named one of the Best CDs of 2004 by the New York Times, which observed, "His stylish accounts of these concertos are among the most revelatory Mozart recordings of the year." The album received a top rating from Classics Today (10/10 for Artist/Sound Quality) and BBC Music Magazine (5/5 for Performance and Sound), the latter observing, "Theirs is music-making that radiates enjoyment, with splendidly alert orchestral playing, and Andsnes revealing himself to be a Mozartian of unselfconscious eloquence. It's possible to approach these wonderful works differently … but you are unlikely to find more satisfying performances. Urgently recommended." Andsnes and the NCO's first album for EMI Classics, featuring Haydn Piano Concertos, won a Gramophone Award. ( EMI )
