Leif Ove Andsnes Tours Europe with Mahler Chamber Orchestra on May 11-19, Launching “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786”
Leif Ove Andsnes, “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight” (New York Times), launches a major new artistic partnership with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) next month, when he leads the ensemble from the keyboard on a high-profile European tour (May 11-19). Featuring performances of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 21 in Frankfurt, Berlin, Grenoble, Evian, Paris, and Lisbon, the tour marks the first phase of “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786,” the celebrated Norwegian pianist’s second multi-season collaboration with the MCO. Their first, the “Beethoven Journey,” was perhaps his most ambitious achievement to date. An epic four-year focus on the composer’s music for piano and orchestra, it was highlighted by complete Beethoven concerto cycles with the MCO, performed at residencies in New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, London, Vienna, Paris, Lucerne, Bodø, Bonn, and Hamburg, and on an award-winning series for Sony Classical.
With “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786,” Andsnes and the MCO explore what is not only one of the most creative and seminal periods of the composer’s career, but one of the most remarkable periods in classical music history. In 1785 and 1786, Mozart wrote a series of masterpieces that would forever change the piano concerto. He re-examined the roles of the soloist and orchestra, discovering new possibilities for communication and dialogue between them. By showcasing the transformative part Mozart played in the genre’s development, Andsnes and the MCO hope to present a rich portrait of the Classical master at the top of his game.
The pianist explains:
“When you realize how quickly Mozart developed it is truly extraordinary. Within a year his concertos sound completely different. … The diversity of the five concertos written in these two years is unbelievable. … He’s at this place where he has total mastery.”
Andsnes is especially looking forward to exploring the composer’s music in partnership with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He says:
“When you go on several tours with the same musicians, performing the same works for so long, you reach a special, shared understanding of the colors, emotions, and musical character you’re all trying to evoke. This common goal can make for a great feeling of spontaneity in live performance.”
In addition to orchestral music, “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786” celebrates Mozart’s solo and chamber works from the same period. On their upcoming tour, Andsnes and members of the MCO complement their concerto performances with accounts of the composer’s First Piano Quartet. The opening night of their two-day launch event in Frankfurt also features the pianist in Mozart’s Fantasy in C minor for solo piano, in selected Lieder with soprano Louise Alder, and in conversation with Cliff Eisen, Professor of Music at King’s College, London (May 11).
Like the “Beethoven Journey,” “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786” will take Andsnes and the MCO to numerous concerts and festivals, starting with the initial European tour. As the project’s key partners, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Rudolfinum in Prague, and deSingel in Antwerp will all host residencies in the coming years. The project will culminate in 2022, with additional residencies around the globe in cities including London, New York, and Tokyo. “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786” will also be recorded for subsequent release on Sony Classical; the first sessions take place in Prague’s Rudolfinum in May 2020.
“Mozart Momentum 1785/1786” also includes an integral education and outreach component titled “Unboxing Mozart.” An interactive live event that reinvents the traditional concert experience, this invites audience members to participate actively in the artistic process, becoming part of the action through role play, by taking on solo responsibilities, or by helping to create constructive dialogues within a community. Representing a convergence of classical music, collaborative performance, and urban gaming, “Unboxing Mozart” follows in the innovative footsteps of “Feel the Music.” A similar project that accompanied the “Beethoven Journey,” this saw Andsnes and the MCO reach out to children with hearing impairment around the world, enabling them to explore music through all their senses.
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To conclude the season, Andsnes reprises Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 21 with the Munich Philharmonic (June 5–7). As with the MCO, he looks forward to leading the orchestra from the keyboard, as well as joining three of its members for an account of the First Piano Quartet.
Click here for more information about “Mozart Momentum 1785/1786,” and here to download high-resolution photos.
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Leif Ove Andsnes (leading from the keyboard) and Mahler Chamber Orchestra
“Mozart Momentum 1785/1786”: initial European tour
May 11
Frankfurt, Germany
Alte Oper Frankfurt, Mozartsaal
Mozart: Lieder (with Louise Alder, soprano)
Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K.478 (with members of Mahler Chamber Orchestra)
Talk with Cliff Eisen, Professor of Music at King’s College, London
Mozart: Fantasy in C minor, K.475
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
May 12
Frankfurt, Germany
Alte Oper Frankfurt, Grosser Saal
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
May 14
Berlin, Germany
Philharmonie Berlin, Kammermusiksaal
Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K.478 (with members of Mahler Chamber Orchestra)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
May 16
Grenoble, France
MC2 Grenoble
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
May 17
Evian, France
Evian Piano Festival, Grange au Lac
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
May 18
Paris, France
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
May 19
Lisbon, Portugal
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Grande Auditório
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
Leif Ove Andsnes: other spring engagements
May 29-30
Bergen, Norway
Bergen Festival
June 5-7
Munich, Germany
Philharmonie im Gasteig
Munich Philharmonic / leading from keyboard
Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K.478 (with members of Munich Philharmonic)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467
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© 21C Media Group, April 2019