Austria’s Wiener Zeitung reviews the Salzburg Festival recital
“… Andsnes is a brilliant technician and he does not use this ability as a blind end in itself, but instead uses the dreamlike security of his hands to his immediate advantage: It takes a lot of confidence to approach the opening movement of the Waldstein Sonata No. 21 in C major Opus 53 with such an adamant tempo, not giving in to a single rubato …
“The technician in him is even more evident in the sister work, the Sonata No. 22 in F major op 54. Andsnes relentlessly punches out the motif chains that seems at first to contradict the cosy minuet tempo. There is hardly any tempo modification, not even in the frantic final movement. Its almost incredible, the speed at which he plays whilst creating such lyrical, beautiful phrases …”
Photo credit © Wolfgang Lienbacher
Source: Wiener Zeitung