The Independent
“Leif Ove Andsnes responds to an almost childlike wonder and innocence in these concertos with a performance full of optimism and light – his involvement in the lengthy, rhapsodic cadenza in the second concerto’s Allegro con brio is particularly outstanding. And the intrinsic gentleness and empathy of the fourth concerto, written while Beethoven was lovestruck, lends itself perfectly to Andsnes’s calm, lyrical treatment: the solo introductory passage seems almost to enter with bowed head, its diffidence presaging an emotionally draining journey that eventually resolves into the triumphant Rondo: vivace. It’s a serene performance that grips, but lightly.”
The Sunday Times
“Directing a piano concerto from the keyboard is a difficult and potentially distracting art, but when it works, it can produce an exceptionally close and fruitful partnership between pianist and orchestra … Andsnes has perfect rapport with the Mahler CO … In their hands, the early, “lightweight” No 2 becomes truly Beethovenian.”
Source: The Independent