Greig - Piano Concerto [Andsnes/Kitayenko-Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra]First off i must say that i have reservations about this performance, and yet, the sheer invention of Grieg still shines through, so this is a testament to Grieg rather than Andsnes, this is the tenth time this work has appeared in my Blog, over a 2 year period, it gets lots of exposure in my life, but this actual disc / performance is the first outing, i'm certainly not an expert on Andsnes, so i can't tell you if he's good or not, but i certainly know the Grieg work, and i know a good performance from an average one.
Leif Ove Andsnes is Norwegian, 41 years old, he made this recording in 1990, the booklet front cover is a black and white shot [by Morton Krogvold], a nice portrait of Andsnes, apart from the face and hands it's all dark, lots of layers of dark grey, the lettering is nicely laid out, a good all round picture.
On the first two movements i was troubled by a degree of mannerisms from Andsnes, he likes to bask in the reflective passages, and i find him hanging around too long, trying to extra caress something out of it all, also he's not a smooth player, and some of his changes of direction are a bit clumsy, in other areas i get the feeling he's trying to get noticed with his ideas, whereas a true Pianist camouflages into the background, and lets the Composer steal the glory, maybe the slow middle movement works slightly better, as it's a more reflective approach you need anyway, but i can't get past some of the sharp jutting corners that Andsnes throws up, it was probably the final movement where i found the most excitement,
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