Leif Ove Andsnes brings to life a new Piano Concerto, composed for him by his compatriot Ørjan Matre. After giving its world premiere performances with the Oslo Philharmonic and Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård (Feb 26 & 27), he undertakes the work with Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic (April 16 & 17). The new concerto marks Andsnes’s second collaboration with Edvard Prize winner Matre, who previously created a special arrangement of his orchestral work Lyric Pieces, a nominee for the Nordic Council Music Prize, for Andsnes to perform with the Bergen Philharmonic on Grieg’s birthday in 2020.
Committed to expanding the piano repertoire, Andsnes is already the dedicatee of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Piano Concerto, which he premiered at London’s BBC Proms, and Bent Sørensen’s The Shadows of Silence, which he premiered at Carnegie Hall. His world premiere recordings of both works were recently re-released as part of the acclaimed 36-CD retrospective Leif Ove Andsnes: The Complete Warner Classics Edition (1990-2010). Further demonstrating his dedication to contemporary music, Andsnes featured Norwegian composers Lene Grenager, Ketil Hvoslef, Marius Neset, Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer, and Knut Vaage as composers-in-residence during his nine seasons as the founder and artistic director of Norway’s celebrated Rosendal Chamber Music Festival.
Photo: Liv Oland