Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has been called “one of the most gifted musicians of his generation” by the Wall Street Journal and “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight,” by the New York Times. His International Artist Series recital in March 2025 will mark his fourth appearance with Schubert Club, and his first since 2011.
A renowned champion of the works of his countryman Edvard Grieg, Andsnes will open the program with the composer’s only piano sonata. The second half will be devoted to the 24 Preludes of Chopin, offering a rare opportunity to hear the complete set performed live. Intended as exploratory character pieces in all the major and minor keys, the 24 Preludes are a study in contrasts: some are as short as 40 seconds, and the longest clocks in at nearly six minutes.
Andsnes will also perform music by Norwegian composer and pianist Geirr Tveitt, an important 20th figure who is little known outside Norway. Like Grieg, Tveitt’s music is inspired by the folk music of his homeland. His ”Sonata Etere” is among the few works to survive a fire at the composer’s home in 1970 that destroyed most of his manuscripts.
ABOUT LEIF OVE ANDSNES
Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has ascended into the pantheon of artists whose importance already merits a 36-CD retrospective of his recordings, to be released by Warner Classics in the fall of 2024. His extensive discography boasts a number of bestsellers, spanning from the Baroque to the present day. Andsnes has been nominated for eleven U.S. Grammys and has been awarded six Gramophone prizes in the U.K. He is a recipient of Norway’s distinguished honor, Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, as well as the prestigious Peer Gynt Prize.
His high-profile bookings for the coming season take him around the world. He’ll appear with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK (Japan) Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, and the Orchestre de Paris.
