Leif Ove Andsnes’ new release of Dvořák’s Poetic Tone Pictures is released today and already the first reviews have appeared:

“This collection of character pieces, composed over seven weeks in 1889, has had a few recordings in the past, but it does not often turn up in the repertoire of an international pianist from outside the Czech tradition … Andsnes sets the tone straightaway with a gleaming luminosity of piano sound in the opening “Twilight Way”. The “Spring Song” and “Serenade” are melodic gems of a kind Dvořák seemed able to create swiftly and easily and without limit. Among the dance-based pieces, the wild yet playful “Furiant” and spooky “Bacchanalia” stand out. Andsnes is persuasive throughout and his championship of these charming miniatures has yielded dividends.”

★★★★ Financial TimesRichard Fairman, 28 October 2022

.
“In his complete recording of the “Poetic Tone Pictures”, Leif Ove Andsnes does not try to load them up with ideas, to exaggerate them. On the other hand, Andsnes also demonstrates the undeniable quality of these pieces thanks to his rich experience with 19th century piano music and to a wealth of agogic subtleties and dynamic valeurs.”
★★★★  Rondo Magazine, Guido Fisher, 28 October 2022

 

“Thirteen rare pieces with folkloric roots, expressed with ease and simplicity. Andsnes treats them with great affection: a real delight …”
★★★★ Le Razon, Gonzalo Alonso, 26 October 2022

.
“Leif Ove Andsnes whose teacher was Czech, melds a seemingly limitless command of keyboard colours with a deep understanding of this immediately appealing repertory. For the duration of each piece Andsnes could as well be Czech himself  … Here is a player whose arsenal of technical strategems elevates him way above the norm, his seemingly effortless virtuosity, his sense of timing, his varied tonal palette, mastery of rubato (never overdone but always distinctive) and his appreciation – and ability to project – the music’s dance elements. Much as I value first-rate recordings of these pieces by distinguished Czechs such as Kvapil and others, Andsnes – whose playing is beautifully recorded – must now take pride of place, certainly in the digital field. A potential award-winner, I’d say.”  

Rob Cowan, 22 October 2022