Leif Ove Andsnes

Leif Ove Andsnes
Born 7 April 1970
Karmøy, Rogaland, Norway
Occupation Classical pianist
Years active 1987–present
Website
www.andsnes.com

Leif Ove Andsnes /ˈlf ˈvə ˈændsnɨs/ (born 7 April 1970, Karmøy) is a Norwegian pianist[1][2] and well-known chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI.[3] For his current "Beethoven Journey" project, Andsnes performed and recorded all five of the composer’s piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; they have been released on Sony Classical.[4] He is represented by IMG.[5]

Biography

He studied with Jiří Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory[1] and made his debut in Oslo in 1987, in Britain at the Edinburgh Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic in 1989, and in the United States with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi in 1990.[2]

He is known as a champion of the works of Edvard Grieg.[6] In 2002 he played Grieg's Piano Concerto at the Last Night of the Proms.

In November 2009, Pictures Reframed debuted at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, in which Andsnes performed Mussorgsky’s suite accompanied by five hanging panels and a rear video projection by Robin Rhode.[7] He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the Apple Store in New York City.[8]

Andsnes cites Dinu Lipatti, Sviatoslav Richter, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Géza Anda amongst his idols.[9]

Administrative

He helped found the Risør Festival of Chamber Music in 1991 and held the position of Artistic Director for the festival until 2010.[10] In June 2012, he served as Music Director of the 2012 Ojai Music Festival.[11]

Awards

Andsnes has won many awards, including the Hindemith-Prize (1987), Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (1997), Gilmore Artist Award (1998), Royal Philharmonic Society Award (2000) and the Gramophone Awards (six times). He was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2013. His recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concertos nos. 2 and 4 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra won both the Concerto Award and the Recording of the Year Award from the BBC Music Magazine in 2015.

Andsnes has been nominated for the Grammy Awards on eight occasions, but has not won any.

Personal life

Norwegian horn player Ragnild Lothe is his live-in partner. She gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Sigrid, on 12 June 2010, and to twins Ingvild and Erlend in May 2013.

Discography

(For peak charting position on VG-lista, the Norwegian Albums chart, see NorwegianCharts.com page)

LP

CD

CD (miscellaneous)

Andsnes/Antonsen/Mørk/Thorsen
EMI Norsk AS SKR 0001
Andsnes is represented with 5 piano pieces previously released on Virgin Classics 0777 7 59300 2 3 (1993)
EMI Classics 7243 5 55576 2 9
Andsnes is represented with miscellaneous piano pieces previously released on Virgin Classics 0777 7596132 4 (1991), Virgin Classics 0777 7596392 2 (1991) and Virgin Classics 0777 7590722 3 (1992)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Dmitri Kitajenko
Edvard Grieg Museum • Trold 08
Andsnes is represented with Grieg's piano concerto, previously released on Virgin Classics 0777 7596132 4 (1991)
Misc. pianists
EMI Classics 7243 5 66273 0 7
Andsnes is represented with Chopin's 'Mazurka In A Minor, Op. 17 Nr. 4', previously released on Virgin Classics 0777 7590722 3 (1992)
Misc. artists
Bare Bra Musikk AS BBCD 2001
Andsnes is represented with the 1st movement of Grieg's piano concerto, previously released on Virgin Classics 0777 7596132 4 (1991)
Misc. artists
Koch Classics 3-1651-2
Andsnes is represented with Schubert's 'Nocturne in E-flat, D 897', previously unreleased
Vamp
MajorStudio MSCD 1147
Andsnes plays together with singer Anne Grete Preus on the previously unreleased song 'En annen sol'
Misc. artists
(2 CDs) EMI Classics 7243 5 74789 2 2
All works are previously released on EMI Classics
Misc. pianists
(2 CDs) EMI Records Ltd/Virgin Classics 7243 5 61952 2 6
Andsnes is represented with previously released works on Virgin Classics 0777 7596392 2 (1991) and Virgin Classics 0777 7 59300 2 3 (1993)
Edvard Grieg Museum • Trold 16
Relaunch of EMI Classics 7243 5 57296 2 0 (2002)
Misc. artists
Classic fm CFMACD92
Andsnes is represented with Grieg's 'Wedding Day At Troldhaugen, Op. 65 Nr. 6', previously released on EMI Classics 7243 5 57296 2 0 (2002)
Misc. artists
Gramophone GCD0703
Andsnes is represented with the 4th movement from Schubert's 'Piano sonata in D, D850', previously released on EMI Classics 7243 5 57509 2 1 (2003)
Misc. artists
Gramophone GCD0904
Andsnes is represented with works previously released on EMI Records Ltd/Virgin Classics 7243 5 45668 2 0 (2004) and EMI Classics 7243 5 57790 2 1 (2004)
Misc. Norwegian artists
(2CDs) Universal Music
Andsnes is represented with Geirr Tveitt's 'Welcome with honor', previously released on EMI Classics 7243 5 56542 2 9 (1998)
Misc. artists
Gramophone GCD1105
Andsnes is represented with the 2nd movement of Rachmaninov's 'Piano Concerto No. 1', previously released on EMI Classics 7243 4 74813 2 1 (2005)
Misc. artists
Gramophone GCD0806
Andsnes is represented with a conversation about Grieg, together with Rob Cowan, previously unreleased

DVD

Misc. pianists
RCA Red Seal
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
EMI Classics 0946 3 10436 9 7

Biography

Written by Astrid Kvalbein
Released by Det Norske Samlaget, ISBN 82-521-6526-5

Further reading

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Leif Ove Andsnes: Biography". Official website.
  2. 2.0 2.1 International Who's Who in Classical Music 2007, 23rd edition. London: Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-85743-416-3.
  3. "Leif Ove Andsnes - Biography". EMI Classics. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  4. http://www.andsnes.com/about
  5. "Leif Ove Andsnes | IMG Artists". Imgartists.com. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  6. Ove, Leif. "Leif Ove Andsnes". NPR. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  7. Cashdan, Marina. "/ Robin Rhode and Leif Ove Andsnes." Modern Painters, November 2009.
  8. Wakin, Daniel J. The New York Times http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/a/leif_ove_andsnes/index.html. Retrieved 7 May 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Classic FM Leif Ove Andsnes: 10 facts about the great pianist. Classic FM Magazine, September 2014.
  10. Nicholas, Jeremy (October 2010). "End of a Rachmaninov Odyssey (Leif Ove Andsnes Cover Story)". Gramophone 88 (1062): 3643.
  11. Morris, Thomas W. "Ojai Festival Blog". Retrieved 14 Feb 2011.

External links

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