Track Listing

1. Lullabies
2. 1:Satz. - Concerto for Piano & Orchestra
3. 2:Presto. - Concerto for Piano & Orchestra
4. 3.:- Concerto for Piano & Orchestra
5. 4.:- Concerto for Piano & Orchestra
6. Hommage à Farkas Ferenc (3) (Evocation of Petrushka) Lendülettel - Vivacissimo
7. Aus der Ferne (for Alfred Schlee's 80th birthday) - A Voice in the Distance
8. Bogáncs (Thistle)
9. Les Adieux (in Janáceks Manier)
10. Vizözön-szirénák (Sirens of the Deluge)
11. Apokrif himnusz (Apocryphal Hymn)
12. Hempergos (Tumble-bunny)
13. Hommage á Farkas Ferenc (2) (Scraps of a colinda melody - faintly recollected)
14. I.:- Concerto for Piano and orchestra
15. II.:- Concerto for Piano and orchestra
16. III.:- Concerto for Piano and orchestra
17. The Shadows of Silence

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9977 in Music
• Released on: 2009-07-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Album Description
Hailed as both "thoughtful musician and breathtaking figure-skater of a technician" (FinancialTimes), Leif Ove Andsnes has long championed what has been called "contemporary music without tears." Here he presents the concerto written for him by the French composer Marc-André Dalbavie, alongside what he regards as the "great piano concerto from the second half of the 20th century," written by Lutoslawski. Framing these works are two solo pieces by fellow Scandinavian Bent Sørensen: the exquisite Lullabies, and the shimmering sounds and dreamlike landscape of the album's title piece, also commissioned by the pianist. In between are eight beguiling miniatures from Games by György Kurtág.

Of the Dalbavie concerto, Andsnes comments: "I like very much that Dalbavie has written a real concerto: a virtuoso piece for piano and orchestra and not, like so many newer pieces, a work where the piano part is simply written into the orchestra. The piece contains great virtuoso writing that is done with a deep understanding of the instrument. The ideas transform from one thing to the next: an idea starts as an accompanying figure and might transform itself to a melodic element or motif. This is a fascinating aspect of his music -- it's all about the transformation of ideas."

The New Yorker
One of the intimidating few who possess power and personality in equal measure.

Customer Reviews

Modern Masterpieces Performed with Verve and Finesse
Leif Ove Andsnes is an amazing talent known for his rare capability to combine verve and virtuosity with abundant touch and finesse. The New Yorker has called the Norwegian pianist "one of the intimidating few who possess power and personality in equal measure", while the Financial Times has called him "an eminently sensual musician, an artist capable of grace and introspection", and the present recording offers plenty to support those accolades. As an exclusive EMI Classics artist, Andsnes has recorded over 30 discs spanning a wide-ranging repertoire from Bach to Shostakovich and has been nominated for seven Grammies and awarded many international prizes including four Gramophone Awards to date.

"Shadows of Silence", released in spring of 2009, features works by the Danish composer Bent Sorensen and the French Marc-Andre Dalbavie both of which works Andsnes premiered with great success at New York's Carnegie Hall and London Proms respectively. The other major piece on this CD is Witold Lutoslawski's Piano Concerto, composed in 1988 in Poland and well on its way of becoming not only a classic but also one of the greatest piano concertos of the second half of the 20th Century. They are all convincingly played with the flair and energy that this wonderful artist, Leif Ove Andsnes, is renowned to possess in generous quantities. Highly recommended.