Leif Ove Andsnes plays Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with Pittsburgh Symphony

The celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes gives his first U.S. performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck on November 25 and 27, followed soon after by a performance of the work with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Roger Norrington (Nov 30 and Dec 1). Early in 2012 he plays it again with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Zinman (Jan 12–14, 17), before turning to the Third Concerto, which he performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Herbert Blomstedt (Jan 19-21). Beethoven’s music figures prominently throughout Andsnes’s 2011-12 season and beyond, with numerous concerto performances and recitals across Europe, North America, and Japan, along with his debut recording for Sony Classical.
 
Andsnes comments:
 
“Preparing myself for my first performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto this past summer, when I performed it with La Scala Philharmonic and Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, I came to understand why the legendary pianist Sviatoslav Richter called it his favorite concerto. It’s an astonishing piece – quite long at 36 minutes, and demonstrating all the breadth and vision we associate with Beethoven’s music. The First Concerto is the last of the composer’s five piano concertos that I’ve come to play, and I’m thrilled to be playing it this season with such wonderful conductors and orchestras.”
 
Last month, Andsnes played Beethoven’s Third Concerto with Jirí Belohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London and on tour in Spain, and the First Concerto with Andris Nelsons and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. Throughout the season, he performs concertos – conducting from the piano – with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. His May 2012 tour with the latter ensemble includes performances of the First and Third Concertos on tour in Italy, Dresden, Prague and Bergen. The Prague concerts will be recorded live by Sony Classical; they represent the first part of a multi-year project entitled “Beethoven – A Journey,” which will present Andsnes playing and recording all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos.
 
 
Leif Ove Andsnes: upcoming engagements (North American dates in bold)
 
 
Nov 25, 27
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1
 
Nov 30 and December 1
Montreal, Canada
Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Roger Norrington
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1
 
Dec 11, 14, 16
Recitals in Longyearbyen, Skien and Nordfjordeid, Norway
Programs TBA
 
Jan 12-14, 17
Boston, MA
Boston Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1
 
Jan 19-21
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Orchestra/Herbert Blomstedt
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
 
Feb 4
Kristiansand, Norway
Haydn: Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI:20
Bartók: Suite for Piano, Op. 14, Sz. 62, BB 70
Debussy: Images, Set 1 for Piano
Chopin: Ballades Nos. 1 & 3, Waltzes, and Nocturne
 
Feb 8-19
U.S. recital tour
Feb 8, Los Angeles, CA (Walt Disney Concert Hall)
Feb 9, San Francisco, CA
Feb 11, Morrow, GA
Feb 12, Washington, DC
Feb 13, Savannah, GA
Feb 15, New York, NY (Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium)
Feb 17, Chapel Hill, NC
Feb 19, Chicago, IL (Symphony Center)
Haydn: Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI:20
Bartók: Suite for Piano, Op. 14, Sz. 62, BB 70
Debussy: Images, Set 1 for Piano
Chopin: Ballades Nos. 1 & 3, Waltzes, and Nocturne
 
March 9-11
Örebro and Stockholm, Sweden
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3
 
March 21-April 3
European recital tour
March 21, Schloss Elmau, Germany
March 23, Brussels, Belgium
March 25, Oslo, Norway
March 26, Paris, France
March 28, Birmingham, U.K.
March 29, London, U.K.
March 31, Florence, Italy
April 1, Genoa, Italy
April 3, Berlin, Germany
Haydn: Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI:20
Bartók: Suite for Piano, Op. 14, Sz. 62, BB 70
Debussy: Images, Set 1 for Piano
Chopin: Ballades Nos. 1 & 3, Waltzes, and Nocturne
 
April 23-May 1
U.S. recital tour with Matthias Goerne
April 23, San Francisco, CA
April 25, St. Paul, MN
April 27, Kalamazoo, MI
April 28, Detroit, MI
May 1, New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
Songs by Shostakovich and Mahler
 
May 9-10
Trondheim, Norway
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3
 
May 15-25
European tour with Mahler Chamber Orchestra
May 15, Brescia, Italy
May 16, Lugano, Switzerland
May 17, Torino, Italy
May 18, Bergamo, Italy
May 20, Dresden, Germany
May 22-23, Prague, Czech Republic (includes live recordings)
May 25, Bergen Festival, Bergen, Norway
Stravinsky: Apollon Musagete
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3
 
May 30
Vienna, Austria
Recital with Matthias Goerne
Songs by Shostakovich and Mahler
 
June 2
Oslo, Norway
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Program TBA
 
June 7-10
Ojai, CA
Ojai Music Festival
Programs TBA
 
 
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www.andsnes.com
 
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© 21C Media Group, November 2011