“Have you heard of Geirr Tveitt?” asked the French-based streaming platform Qobuz on Instagram this week. If you haven’t, that’s about to change.
Leif Ove Andsnes’s new recording of Tveitt’s music features Sonata No. 29. It is the only sonata that survived a devastating fire which burned roughly 80% of Tveitt’s manuscripts to ashes, including the other 30+ sonatas he had composed. The album also features piano arrangements of Folk Tunes, and a selection of Songs that Andsnes recorded with his sister, Solveig.
Within its first week of release, Qobuz unveiled a trailer, with a mini-documentary to follow. The New York Times published a major feature on the composer; Gramophone released a performance video featuring Andsnes and his sister; and numerous media outlets across Europe are helping to bring Tveitt’s name out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
Here’s what the media is saying:
De Volkskrant (Netherlands): “Searching for the past of a great but sidelined Norwegian composer.”
Gramophone (UK): “The story behind Tveitt’s Piano Sonata No 29 is fascinating. It is the only remaining sonata by Tveitt after a disastrous fire which destroyed most of the composer’s manuscripts and it is a work of personal significance for Leif Ove Andsnes.”
The New York Times (USA): “Now, a new album by the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is helping bring Tveitt (1908–1981) to the attention of a wider international audience.”
NRK (Norway): “Andsnes’s performance of Sonata Etere is nothing short of outstanding … The album sheds new light on a composer too important to remain in the shadows.”
Qobuz (France), ‘Album of the Week’: “With a touch that is both powerful and elegant, Andsnes delivers an exceptional performance, full of breath, clarity and virtuosity.”
Concerti Magazine (Germany): “Tveitt’s songs, recorded by Andsnes with his sister Solveig, occupy a space between folk and art song. Harmonically bold, they at times evoke magical, enchanted worlds.”
Watch Leif Ove Andsnes on Qobuz!