Leif Ove Andsnes Comes to Den Norske Opera in January

Leif Ove Andsnes’ list of accomplishments is as impressive as his nearly 40-year-long career. In January, he is returning to the Oslo Opera House with a selection of sonatas and preludes that serve as an unprecedented prelude to the new year. 

Nowhere is this clearer than in the composer’s only piano sonata, written in 1865 after Grieg had just become engaged to his cousin Nina. The sonata reflects the joy he must have felt, with melodies that truly glow and harmonies that are equally rough and romantic. 

Grieg’s distinctiveness is openly evident in the four movements of the sonata. He even signed the first movement with his own initials, which opens with the tones e – h – g: Edvard Hagerup Grieg. 

Geirr Tveitt’s music combines elements of Norwegian folk music with continental tones. Few of his sonatas have been performed publicly and only one has survived: number 29, the intense and deeply original Sonata etere. 

With this sonata, Tveitt pushes the limits of the piano timbres, but critics turned their nose up at the originality of the work, which was published in the early 1950s. But it did not take long until the piece became among the most frequently performed Norwegian piano sonatas. (Thirty minutes of rhythmic patterns in continuously changing variations and shifting accents awaits.)  

Chopin’s Preludes, Opus 28, consist of 24 preludes less than a minute in length. Each of them is a compact, emotionally saturated composition. Heard in context, they comprise Chopin’s most mysterious, emotional journey, and also cover all major and minor keys. 

Chopin completed the preludes under rather miserable conditions on Mallorca, where he spent the winter of 1838–1839 together with his lover, author George Sand. Bad weather, wretched accommodations, illness and emotional chaos were among the challenges the couple encountered. 

There is never a reliable connection between biography and musical inspiration, but this cycle ends darkly in D minor – unmistakeably similar to his stay in Mallorca, which ended abruptly when Chopin’s health deteriorated and the couple left the island for Marseille. But he managed to finish the preludes first! 

To post a comment, you must register and login.