Leif Ove Andsnes

Leif Ove Andsnes is Norway's foremost pianist. His repertoire is large; with the music of Norwegian composer <a href="spotify:artist:5ihY290YPGc3aY2xTyx7Gy">Edvard Grieg</a> as a touchstone, it has been centered on the core Romantic piano repertory but has extended back to <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a> and forward into the 20th century. A world favorite among buyers of recordings, he has issued a large catalog of albums on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Virgin+Classics%22">Virgin Classics</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Classics%22">Warner Classics</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony+Classical%22">Sony Classical</a> labels, among others.

Andsnes was born in the small city of Karmøy, in southwestern Norway, on April 7, 1970. As a child he loved to play <a href="spotify:artist:5ihY290YPGc3aY2xTyx7Gy">Grieg</a>'s music, and in 1986 he entered the Bergen Conservatory, studying with Jiri Hlinka. A year later he gave his debut recital in Oslo, winning the Hindemith Prize that same year. His international career wasn't long in coming: he performed at the Edinburgh Festival with the <a href="spotify:artist:5cp6B8bMNsXdQKgE6exdzx">Oslo Philharmonic</a> in 1989 and made his U.S. debut with the <a href="spotify:artist:0jJszR81GjA87jeRq0Jgwz">Cleveland Orchestra</a>, under <a href="spotify:artist:5UHZvYJA0aPcJSLYkYAeps">Neeme Järvi</a>, in 1990. The 1990s decade saw Andsnes perform with most of the world's major orchestras and at top venues including not only the BBC Proms and New York's Carnegie Hall, but also a New York City Apple store. He toured with the <a href="spotify:artist:1TuMl6QKOFwgQZzzhzuds4">Detroit Symphony Orchestra</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:0jJszR81GjA87jeRq0Jgwz">Cleveland Orchestra</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:0K23lQ2hSQAlxSEeZ05bjI">Boston Symphony</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:5cp6B8bMNsXdQKgE6exdzx">Oslo Philharmonic</a>, and the Danish Radio Orchestra. He has also played chamber music with <a href="spotify:artist:1fo7wyhU0wmbIbknhGaBOi">Christian</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:02bDUUUCAdpFob66KNgPtF">Tanya Tetzlaff</a>, and in 1991 he founded his own Risør Festival of Chamber Music in Norway, remaining its director until 2010. An admirer of Romanian pianist <a href="spotify:artist:0Te2ZxgvPNpa87vUpbLunI">Dinu Lipatti</a>, Andsnes has cultivated a style with the same kind of limpid sparkle.

Particularly significant has been Andsnes' career as a recording artist, which has been greeted with almost universal critical acclaim. His recording catalog began as accompanist to cellist <a href="spotify:artist:2ookZjNsAvPdiaGWn86ub1">Truls Mørk</a> in music by <a href="spotify:artist:7y97mc3bZRFXzT2szRM4L4">Chopin</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UqjDAXnDxejEyE0CzfUrZ">Schumann</a> on Norway's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Simax%22">Simax</a> label in 1990. The following year he moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Virgin+Classics%22">Virgin Classics</a>, and in the late 1990s to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a>. Many of his albums began to appear on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Classics%22">Warner Classics</a> label in the mid-2000s decade, and in 2012 (a year in which he notched five major-label releases) he was signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony+Classical%22">Sony Classical</a> and began a Beethoven Journey series of Beethoven's piano concertos with the <a href="spotify:artist:5g44FyRrB0AUEdQbqW4jAo">Mahler Chamber Orchestra</a>, conducted by Andsnes from the keyboard. In 2018 Andsnes released an album of <a href="spotify:artist:7y97mc3bZRFXzT2szRM4L4">Chopin</a> ballades and nocturnes on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony%22">Sony</a>. Andsnes has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, including in 2019, for an album of Schumann's lieder with <a href="spotify:artist:1F3yfrc1DyiWsM0YG7kpsN">Matthias Goerne</a>.