Leif Ove Andsnes / Mahler Chamber Orchestra THE BEETHOVEN JOURNEY The Complete Piano Concertos

 

THE COMPLETE PIANO CONCERTOS

 

Matthias Goerne / Leif Ove Andsnes ROBERT SCHUMANN Liederkreis Op. 24 - Kernerlieder

In the miraculous year of 1840, which Schumann began in despair, forcibly separated from Clara by her father, he composed nearly 150 lieder, including the two outstanding cycles presented here, based respectively on poems by the great Heine (the Liederkreis op.24) and by Justinus Kerner (the twelve Kernerlieder op.35).

Haunted from beginning to end by Romantic Nature, in the hands of two such outstanding artists as Matthias Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes these two masterpieces invite us, performers and listeners alike, to share a state of transcendence, a heightened consciousness that transports us directly to the heart of lived experience itself.

Leif Ove Andsnes CHOPIN Ballades & Nocturnes

Chopin: Ballades & Nocturnes for solo piano by Leif Ove Andsnes, "a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight" (New York Times). 

Interspersing the Romantic master composer’s four Ballades – works immense in the range and power of their expression – with three of his nocturnes, the new album represents the Norwegian pianist’s first recording of Chopin’s music in more than a decade. 

"There were quite a few years where I didn’t play much Chopin. He felt complicated to me, and I was not at ease with him. Something has happened to me in the last ten years, I don’t know what it is, but now I experience his music as so unbelievably great, so unique a voice, much more than before. My relationship to this composer is much more intimate." (Leif Ove Andsnes)

Marc-André Hamelin / Leif Ove Andsnes STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring - Concerto for Two Pianos

First a threshold question: Is there any point in listening to the Rite of Spring in its arrangement for two pianos in the first place? The answer is 'yes,' even though this necessarily monochrome version (compared to the orchestral original) can’t possibly capture the impact that Stravinsky achieves simply through piling on the timbre of the full orchestra. What it does reveal, though, is a harmonic clarity and a focus on melody that makes certain sections, especially the climaxes, sound very different than they ordinarily do—more linear, more lyrical, less strenuous.

Consider the 'Spring Rounds' section in the work’s first part. The orchestral version, with its crashing tam-tam and terrifying brass smears, hits you in the gut. As heard on two pianos, we can follow how Stravinsky fragments and distributes the melody in different registers, and maintains the long, lyrical line all the way through the section. It’s really a different experience entirely, equally legitimate in its way, and certainly an illuminating commentary on the composer’s technique. All of which brings us to this particular performance.

There’s no question that Marc-André Hamelin and Leif Ove Andsnes, aside from having tripartite names in common, represent a sort of pianistic 'dream team' when it comes to music of this difficulty and complexity. Simply put, they turn in a version of The Rite not just technically astounding, but paced and interpreted as well as any of the best full-orchestra performances. There’s not a moment when you think to yourself, 'This should be faster, or slower, or lighter, or weightier.' It’s a fully realized, perfectly executed vision of the work, nowhere more so than in the latter half of the second part, where so many other performances bog down in the music’s minimalist rhythmic repetitiousness. And my God, how they tear into the concluding Sacrificial Dance!

And let’s not forget the other major work here. Stravinsky’s Concerto for Two Pianos is one of his most perfectly crafted neoclassical masterpieces. It attracts little attention these days, but here’s a performance whose crispness, elegance, and clarity (in the final fugue especially) ought to win it many new friends. The piece has received plenty of fine outings on disc previously, from the Kontarsky brothers on DG in particular, but this interpretation is special because it manages to be precise, that is 'Stravinskian', without ever sounding merely mechanical. The virtuosity of the players never draws attention to itself; rather, it gives the music an easy flow that projects a true sense of joy in the act of bringing the work to life.

The shorter pieces are nice to have, but almost beside the point next to the main items. If you take your Stravinsky at all seriously, you will need to hear this. (Classics Today)

Leif Ove Andsnes SCHUBERT Late Piano Sonatas

Leif Ove Andsnes has made many excellent recordings for Virgin and EMI over the long years of his association with those two labels. One thinks of his harrowing Janácek, his exhilarating Grieg, his ravishing Chopin, and his staggering Nielsen discs. Unfortunately, this two-disc set coupling Schubert's last four piano sonatas is not one of Andsnes' better efforts. It's not that his technique isn't as impressive as before. In the stormiest pages of the C minor Sonata's opening Allegro and the thorniest pages of the A major Sonata's central Andantino, Andsnes articulates every line, harmony, and rhythm with the utmost clarity and precision. It's that Andsnes seems out of touch with the spirit behind the music. Where one wants lyrical rapture in the A major Sonata's closing Allegretto, dramatic tension in the B flat major Sonata's opening Molto moderato, and intimacy in the same sonata's central Andante sostenuto, Andsnes seems stuck on the surface of the music, turning in perfectly balanced but ultimately uninvolving performances. Recorded in three different places at four different times between 2001 and 2006, EMI's digital sound here is nevertheless consistently clear, round, and deep. (James Leonard)

Zimerman / Andsnes / Grimaud / Boulez BARTÓK Piano Concertos

This is an interesting idea: to combine performances by different pianists and different orchestras. It calls attention to this being Boulez's Bartók . . . Krystian Zimerman takes a direct, hard-hitting approach to the opening Allegro moderator of the First Concerto, in which he is joined by Boulez and the Chicagoans. Every note is crystal clear, and the concerto benefits from Zimerman's stunning pianism and the exquisite brass-playing of this great orchestra . . . Zimerman and Boulez display extraordinary concentration throughout the Andante, and the Allegro molto finale is sheer brilliance . . . The recorded sound is clean and open, keeping both piano and orchestra to the fore. On balance, this is as fine a recording of the First Concerto as any I have heard . . . Hélène Grimaud . . . produces the warmth and gentleness that so many miss in this elegant, comparatively relaxed concerto, which the dying Bartók wrote so that his widow could make a living playing it. Boulez seems totally in synch with Grimaud . . . They attack the finale strongly . . . Revisiting the raison d'être of this disc -- Boulez's Bartók -- it seems entirely appropriate to have three pianists play these three very different concertos . . . three pianists is an equally admirable solution. (Record Review / James H. North, Fanfare (Tenafly, NJ) / 01. July 2005)

 

As this wonderful new CD shows, the mesmerising clarity is still there . . . and there's a welcome flexibility in the rhythm. But the thing that really strikes you is the sheer beauty of the sound . . . And the three soloists - Zimerman, Andsnes and Grimaud - are all marvellous. (Record Review / Ivan Hewett, Times/Eye / 19. February 2005)

Leif Ove Andsnes SIBELIUS

"Everyone was astonished that there can be a major composer out there with such beautiful, accessible music that people don’t know. These are intriguing works with the wonderful Sibelius qualities we know. I really, really believe in this music and I want people to hear it.“ (Leif Ove Andsnes) 

Neglected and in many cases misunderstood, Sibelius’s piano works remain something of secret. The celebrated Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes is on a mission to share them. As he readily confesses, they are uneven in quality, some sounding little more than short, sweet musings, others like shadowy imitations of Chopin or Liszt. All appear worlds away from the raw splendour of the symphonic works. Or perhaps not. The three lyric pieces of Kyllikki, Op 41 (1904), inspired by Finland’s epic, The Kalevala, or the Five Sketches (1929) do echo the timbre and mood of his orchestral writing. On closer listening you feel a door to Sibelius’s mysterious world has been unlocked. And the playing is beautiful. (Fiona Maddocks / The Guardian)

Leif Ove Andsnes / Mahler Chamber Orchestra THE BEETHOVEN JOURNEY Piano Concerto No. 5 - Choral Fantasy

Four years in the making, the celebrated Beethoven Journey has now reached its crowning season. An intense collaborative project between Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the heart of the journey has been the recording of all five of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerti and his Choral Fantasy, with the final album scheduled for release by Sony Classical on September 16. Over the four years Leif Ove Andsnes has also made Beethoven's concerti the focus of his attention on stage with over 150 performances in 55 cities and 22 countries. With the start of the 2014 / 15 season Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra embark on a year of high-profile residencies that will see them perform the complete cycle of concerti in Hamburg, Bonn, Lucerne, Vienna, Paris, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and London. A third and integral part of the Beethoven Journey is an ambitious education project series entitled Feel the Music that gives children with hearing impairment the chance to experience music both in personal workshops and on the concert platform together with Andsnes and the orchestra.

September 16 is the release of the third and final recording of the Beethoven Journey, featuring Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor and the Choral Fantasy, recorded live in concert at the Prague Spring Festival in May with Andsnes performing and directing the orchestra from the keyboard. The complete Beethoven Journey will be released as a box set, available digitally and physically, on October 28, 2014. The Beethoven Journey has enjoyed worldwide acclaim from critics and audiences alike since its inception in 2011. Particular attention has been paid to the outstanding musical partnership between Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with the Guardian commenting : "You'd be hard put to find a pianist and orchestra better matched," whilst Gramophone Magazine wrote: "There's so much more to this partnership than just exceptional playing; there's a palpable sense of discovery, of living the music."

Leif Ove Andsnes / Mahler Chamber Orchestra THE BEETHOVEN JOURNEY Piano Concertos 2 & 4

"Some journeys are unpredictable" wrote Leif Ove Andsnes of the new album. "At the beginning of May 2013, I was all geared up to tour and record Beethoven's Second and Fourth Concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. A couple of days before I was due to depart for the tour, our twins arrived in this world -- twelve weeks earlier than expected. With the insecurity that followed over the next few days, there was no way around it: I had to cancel the recording and stay at home with my family. Now, seven months later, our twins are fine and healthy, and I am so happy that the MCO and I found another period to record the concertos, which we did in the beautiful St. Jude's Church in London in December 2013. Working with this group is always an incredibly gratifying experience, and I continue to be grateful to them for the enormous commitment and passion they bring to our performances together. To live with these two concertos is, for me, emotionally similar to thatof spending time with my children: this is music that feeds me constantly with joy, surprise and discovery. There is of course much drama and intensity in this music, qualities we often associate with Beethoven, but there is also so much childlike beauty and innocence in these concertos, and a constant sense of wonder. I want to dedicate this recording to my three wonderful children , Sigrid, Ingvild and Erlend."

Leif Ove Andsnes / Mahler Chamber Orchestra THE BEETHOVEN JOURNEY Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3

Now this is something very special, and it marks an exciting debut for Leif Ove Andsnes on Sony after his long relationship with EMI. The label has struck musical gold with this particular signing and the pairing of Andsnes with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra makes this a thrilling start to what is termed "The Beethoven Journey". (While that might sound like another Beethoven piano concerto cycle to you or me, it is, to Andsnes, “a multi-season project that will make the composer’s music the centerpiece of my life as a performer and recording artist”.) And this is the first time we get to hear Andsnes in Beethoven on disc. He has waited a long time but, on the basis of this CD, was right to do so. He offers a personal but never idiosyncratic view of the First and Third Concertos and it augurs very well for the remainder of the series.

Except that it isn’t just another Beethoven cycle-in-the-making, and the achievement is as much down to the Mahler CO’s youthful players as to Andsnes’ peerless pianism. He directs from the keyboard and this makes for exactly the kind of chamber-musical, hyper-reactive performances that you might expect. But there’s so much more to this partnership than just exceptional playing (though there’s that in abundance): there’s a palpable sense of discovery, of living the music; he and the MCO players are already finishing one another’s musical sentences like an old married couple, but with an ebullience and mutual fascination that is anything but world-weary.

You know you’re in remarkable musical company before the piano has sounded a note. Just listen to the long exposition of the First Concerto: highly responsive, lean strings, pungent horns and wonderfully characterful wind soloists (especially the first bassoon, both alone and in duet with the first oboe). Of course, this isn’t just down to the players: it’s Andsnes’ conception right from the start. Even if we can’t actually see him directing, we can sense his musical presence.

The chamber dimensions of the ensemble mean that these are essentially less ‘public’ readings than those of, for example, Lewis and the BBC SO or Brendel and the VPO (to mention just two other front-runners). But that’s not to suggest that the playing in any way lacks impact. The smaller forces mean that the wind and brass are naturally more prominent in the mix and I found myself hearing details – a flute phrase here, a bassoon response there – that I’d never consciously registered previously. However, these are never pushed at you in a Harnoncourt y manner (as he can do in his cycle with Aimard). And there are little touches here and there – reducing the violin line to a single player just over two minutes into the opening movement of the Third Concerto – that demonstrate the detail of the thinking behind these interpretations.

What’s also very striking is that these performances are not simply about élan and energy: they have a sense of gravitas, too, of rightness that you find in the greatest Beethoven interpreters, from Edwin Fischer and Emil Gilels to Alfred Brendel. This isn’t something that is achieved by big, ballsy playing but rather by a sense of balance, of musicality, of understanding not only the notes themselves but the wider context – where these pieces stand within Beethoven’s output and a broader historical perspective, too.

The sign of a really fine orchestra is its adaptability, and it’s fascinating to compare the playing of the MCO here with their disc with Argerich, who recorded the Third Concerto with Abbado in 2004. In the Largo Andsnes and the orchestra hold you rapt at a slow but never stilted tempo; the players have to contend with a still more spacious approach from Argerich, which they do superbly, while in the finale they’re immediately responsive to her swerves of tempo and phrasing (and the first oboe is heroic in both performances). There’s no disputing the greatness of Argerich as a pianist but it’s Andsnes’ more selfless approach that I find more compelling. He writes in the booklet-notes about finding Beethoven simultaneously the most human and the most deeply spiritual of composers, and this is conveyed vividly in these performances.

The pleasure is completed by the wonderfully warm and natural ambience of Prague’s Rudolfinum, beautifully caught by Sony’s engineers. I, for one, can’t wait for the next installment. (Harriet Smith)