Founding Director Leif Ove Andsnes celebrates “Contrasts” at Norway’s Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, during full summer of festivals & orchestral concerts in Europe

Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou at Rosendal Chamber Music Festival (photo: courtesy of RCMF)

(May 2024) — As Founding Director of Norway’s annual Rosendal Chamber Music
Festival, Leif Ove Andsnes curates and performs at the 2024 edition, “Contrasts” (Aug
7–11). Exploring Hungary’s rich musical heritage alongside the works of Bach, this offers
the festival’s “most ambitious programme to date, with more than 60 visiting
musicians” (Gramophone). For Andsnes, Rosendal represents one of many high-profile
European engagements this summer. Other festival highlights include piano four-hands
recitals of Schubert and Kurtág with Bertrand Chamayou at Norway’s Bergen Festival
(May 30), Austria’s Schubertiade (June 20), and Germany’s Ruhr Piano Festival (June
26); a residency at Norway’s Lofoten Festival (July 8–10); and a performance of the Grieg
Piano Concerto at Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival (Aug 17). Andsnes also returns to
Norway’s Trondheim Symphony for Debussy and Franck (June 6) and reprises his
acclaimed interpretation of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with the Bavarian Radio
Symphony (June 13–15). This full European summer follows the celebrated Norwegian
pianist’s recent spring successes in North America, where his appearances with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Dover Quartet only confirmed his
standing as “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight” (New York Times).

Rosendal Chamber Music Festival celebrates “Contrasts” (Aug 7–11)

Founded by Andsnes in 2016, the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival is held in a
Norwegian village reached by boat from Bergen airport. Set against a breathtaking
backdrop of mountains, fjord, and sea, the Baroniet Rosendal Manor House and Gardens
date from 1665, offering visitors a glimpse of Norwegian history in one of the country’s
most spectacular natural settings. The UK’s Arts Desk calls the festival “a utopian place for
utopian musicians,” and Germany’s Bavarian Radio finds it “intimate and rich in
personality, idyllic and profound.” France’s Diapason adds:

“Andsnes has found a winning formula. … In addition to the intelligence of its
programming and the high level of its performers, the festival benefits from what is often
lacking in the most exclusive of locations: authenticity and atmosphere – truly magical.”

Rosendal’s 2024 edition takes its title and theme from Bartók’s clarinet trio, Contrasts. This
provides the inspiration for “Contrasts” (“Kontraster”), which juxtaposes music by Liszt,
Bartók, Kodály, György Kurtág, and others with that of J.S. Bach (Aug 7–11). Andsnes
explains:

“Hungarian music history is so unusually powerful. Few other countries have fostered such
a wide range of musical personalities, all of whom have spectacularly integrated the
narrative of their homeland into their works. This is particularly striking when we know
the great challenges many of these composers faced as a consequence of the political game
of the time they lived in. Their lives and contemporaries are reflected in their music – both
in their virtuosity and in their extreme expressiveness.
“As an absolute contrast to the Hungarians, I would like to honor Johann Sebastian Bach. I
have long wanted to invite the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir to Rosendal, and this year I have
the perfect opportunity to celebrate that it is 300 years since the St. John’s Passion was
performed for the first time, a masterpiece as powerfully dramatic and moving today as it
was in 1724.”

To celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bach’s masterpiece, Rosendal presents two
performances of his St. John Passion by the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, the specially
formed Baroque Orchestra, and their Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, Grete
Pedersen (Aug 10). Other festival highlights include accounts of Bartók’s First Violin
Sonata by Andsnes and Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang (Aug 7); Ligeti’s First String
Quartet by France’s Quatuor Agate (Aug 8); Dohnányi’s C-major Sextet by violinist
Florian Donderer, violist Antoine Tamestit, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, pianist Nikita
Khnykin, clarinetist Wenzel Fuchs, and horn player Ragnhild Lothe (Aug 11); and Liszt’s
choral work Via crucis by Pedersen, Andsnes, and the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir (Aug 11).
Besides those named above, the summer’s 60 guest artists include pianists Zlata
Chochieva and Nikita Khnykin, harpsichordist Masato Suzuki, double bassist Christian
Henriksen, Hardanger fiddle player Alexander Aga Røynstrand, tenor Benedikt
Kristjánsson, vocalist and composer Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer, and actor Ragnhild
Gudbrandsen. Andsnes’s Rosendal appearances are detailed below, and a full festival
program is provided here.

Other chamber festivals: Lofoten, Bergen, Ruhr, & Schubertiade

Rosendal is just one of the European chamber music festivals that Andsnes graces this
summer. He and Frang preview their account of the Bartók sonata at Norway’s Lofoten
Festival, where the pianist also performs solo and chamber works by Schubert, Brahms,
Schumann, Liszt, Halvorsen, and Kurtág (July 8–10).

The great Hungarian modernist is on the program once again when Andsnes joins fellow
pianist Bertrand Chamayou for recitals at Norway’s Bergen Festival (May 30), Austria’s
Schubertiade Festival (June 20), and Germany’s Ruhr Piano Festival (June 26). At all
three events, the pianists intersperse Schubert’s late works for piano four-hands with
selected miniatures for solo and four-hands piano from Kurtág’s Játékok. After a similar
program at last year’s Edinburgh International Festival, The Guardian pronounced Andsnes
and Chamayou “together or apart, equal partners, supreme musicians,” and Edinburgh
Music Review observed:

“There was unanimity of musical voice and phrasing, the two players playing as one. This
doesn’t just happen. It needs work and commitment and an element of chemistry. Clearly
this artistic rapport is there.”

At this year’s Schubertiade, where the four-hands performance will be recorded for ORF
Sound Radio, Andsnes also gives a recital of Schubert lieder with Matthias Goerne (June
22). He and the German baritone previously scored a 2020 Grammy nomination for
Schumann: Liederkreis & Kernerlieder, their recording on the Harmonia Mundi label.

Concertos: Beethoven in Munich, Vienna, & Oslo; Grieg in Lucerne; more

The pianist undertakes a number of concerto collaborations this summer. After joining
Norway’s Trondheim Symphony for concertante works by Debussy and Franck (June 6),
he performs Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony
under Daniel Harding in Vienna (June 15) and Munich (June 13 & 14), where he also
joins members of the orchestra for an account of Dohnányi’s Second Piano Quintet (June
12). As heard on The Beethoven Journey, his acclaimed series for Sony Classical, Andsnes’s
interpretation of the “Emperor” has been praised for its “arresting maturity, stylistic
acumen and utter delight” (The Telegraph, UK).

The pianist subsequently revisits the “Emperor” in season-opening concerts with the
Oslo Philharmonic and Music Director Klaus Mäkelä (Aug 28 & 29), after performing
Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Mäkelä and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra at the Lucerne
Festival (Aug 17). Andsnes is one of today’s leading exponents of his compatriot’s music,
and his recording of the Grieg with the Berlin Philharmonic was named “Best CD of the
Year” by the New York Times, awarded a coveted “Rosette” by the Penguin Guide, and
recognized with a Gramophone Award.

Spring successes in U.S.

Andsnes’s European summer dates follow a string of spring successes in North America. He
performed Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with both the Pittsburgh Symphony, with
which he gave “the most gripping performance of the weekend” (Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette), and the Philadelphia Orchestra, where his “high-energy, well-disciplined
performance … provided a cool counterpart to the increasing heat of the orchestra”
(ConcertoNet). Characterizing his back-to-back accounts of the concerto as “a massive feat
of technique and stamina and heart,” the Post-Gazette observed: “I heard both concerts.
Both were excellent, in every sense of the word.”

Next, on a five-city North American tour with the Grammy-nominated Dover Quartet,
Andsnes played Dohnányi and Brahms piano quintets at venues including New York’s
Carnegie Hall and D.C.’s Kennedy Center. As the Washington Classical Review concluded:

“Andsnes proved a commanding presence, … standing out [in Dohnányi] for his
mercurial handling of the piano’s cadenza-like material. … With a supreme range of touch,
[he] matched [the quartet] in rarefied beauty [in the Brahms], … [and] again took
command with a magisterial authority, driving the work to a thrilling conclusion.”

Click here to download high-resolution photos.

Andsnes.com
Facebook.com/LeifOveAndsnes
Twitter.com/LeifOveAndsnes
Youtube.com/user/LeifOveAndsnesTV

Leif Ove Andsnes: upcoming engagements

May 30 & 31
Bergen, Norway
Bergen Festival
May 30: recital with Bertrand Chamayou, piano
SCHUBERT: late works for piano four-hands
György KURTÁG: selections from Játékok for solo piano and piano four-hands
May 31: masterclass

June 6
Trondheim, Norway
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra / Magnus Fryklund
DEBUSSY: Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra
FRANCK: Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra

June 12
Munich, Germany
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra “Watch This Space” chamber concert
DOHNÁNYI: Piano Quintet No. 2 (with Key Märkl & Lorenz Chen, violins; Emiko Yuasa, viola; Uta
Zenke-Vogelmann, cello)

June 13–15: concerts with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Harding
June 13 & 14: Munich, Germany
June 15: Vienna, Austria
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”

June 20 & 22
Hohenems, Austria
Schubertiade Festival
June 20: recital with Bertrand Chamayou, piano (to be recorded by ORF Sound Radio)
SCHUBERT: late works for piano four-hands
György KURTÁG: selections from Játékok for solo piano and piano four-hands
June 22: recital with Matthias Goerne, baritone
SCHUBERT: selected lieder

June 26
Düsseldorf, Germany
Ruhr Piano Festival
Recital with Bertrand Chamayou, piano
SCHUBERT: late works for piano four-hands
György KURTÁG: selections from Játékok for solo piano and piano four-hands

July 8–10
Lofoten, Norway
Lofoten Festival
July 8: Opening Concert
HALVORSEN: The song of Veslemøy (with Arvid Engegård, violin)
BRAHMS: Nos. 2 & 3 from Seven Fantasies
SCHUMANN: Fantasiestücke (with Martin Fröst, clarinet)
July 9
SCHUBERT: Fantasy in F minor, D.940 (with Paul Lewis, piano)
György KURTÁG: Homage to R. Schumann (with Martin Fröst, clarinet; Juliet Jopling, viola)
July 10
LISZT: Consolations
BARTÓK: Violin Sonata No. 1 (with Vilde Frang, violin)

Aug 7–11
Rosendal, Norway
Rosendal Chamber Music Festival (Founder and Artistic Director)
“Contrasts”
Aug 7: Opening Concert
BARTÓK: Violin Sonata No. 1 (with Vilde Frang, violin)
Aug 8
György KURTÁG: Ligatura – Message to Frances-Marie (the Answered Unanswered Question)
(with Adrien Jurkovic & Thomas Descamps, violins; Tanja Tetzlaff & Simon Iachemet, cellos)
SCHUMANN: Fantasiestücke (with Wenzel Fuchs, clarinet)
György KURTÁG: Selections from Játékok (with Antoine Tamestit, viola)
György KURTÁG: Jelek, játékok és üzenetek (with Antoine Tamestit, viola)
György KURTÁG: Homage to R. Schumann (with Wenzel Fuchs, clarinet; Antoine Tamestit, viola)
Aug 10
LISZT: Consolations , Nos. 2, 3 & 6
LISZT: Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth (Elegie) (with Florian Donderer, violin),
LISZT: Romance oubliée (with Antoine Tamestit, viola)
Aug 11 (morning)
GRIEG / MEYER: In the Hall of the Mountain King (with Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer, voice)
Aug 11: Closing Concert
BACH / KURTÁG: Chorale Prelude: Aus tiefer not schrei ich zu dir (with Zlata Chochieva, piano)
LISZT: Via crucis (with Norwegian Soloists’ Choir; Grete Pedersen, conductor)

Aug 17
Lucerne, Switzerland
Lucerne Festival
Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä
GRIEG: Piano Concerto

Aug 28 & 29
Oslo, Norway
Oslo Philharmonic / Klaus Mäkelä
Season-Opening Concerts
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”)

#          #           #

© 21C Media Group, May 2024