Leif Ove Andsnes
Piano
The piano playing of Leif Ove Andsnes, who the [Wall Street Journal] once called “one of the most gifted musicians of his generation”, is clear, structured, poetic, and richly coloured. Without a doubt, the Norwegian, born on the island of Karmøy in 1970, who was the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Pianist in Residence during the 2010/11 season, is one of the exceptional artists of our time.
Leif Ove Andsnes studied at the conservatory in Bergen under Jiří Hlinka and in Belgium under Jacques de Tiège. After early success at international competitions, he made his debut at the age of 19 in New York, Washington, and at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic conducted by Mariss Jansons. This laid the foundation for a successful career: the pianist appeared in concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time as early as 1992. He now gives solo recitals at prestigious concert halls, performs as a soloist under the baton of major conductors with top orchestras all over the world and is, of course, also active in the recording studio. A keen chamber musician, he is the founding director of the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, has been one of the artistic directors of the Risør Chamber Music Festival in Norway for almost two decades, and in 2012 he was musical director of the Ojai Music Festival in California. Andsnes works closely with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with which – among other things – he has conducted complete Beethoven concerto cycles from the piano during prestigious residencies in Bonn, Hamburg, Lucerne, Vienna, Paris, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and London. The multi-award-winning pianist was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in July 2013, and received honorary doctorates from the Juilliard School in New York and the University of Bergen in Norway in 2016/17.
