Leif Ove Andsnes: Horizons

CML call number: CD CLASSICAL Andsnes
Anthony Tommasini wrote in the New York Times: "[G]ive the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes enormous credit for having come up with a truly fresh and exquisitely played album of short works for his latest EMI recording. From the first item, an étude from a collection of 13 piano pieces by Sibelius, this program is filled with surprises. Who knew that this brooding Finnish symphonist had written études, especially a bouncy piece like this? Yet the music is tinged with minor-mode wistfulness, which Mr. Andsnes conveys in a fleet and nimble performance. On the next track he offers two impromptus by Scriabin that again confound expectations. These are lilting Chopinesque works, played with lyricism and impetuosity. … He offers chestnuts too, including Liszt's 'Liebestraum' No. 3 and even Debussy's 'Clair de Lune,' played so lovingly that they sound rediscovered. Still, many of the selections (22 in all) will be unfamiliar discoveries for most listeners: an Albéniz tango, a tumultuous concert étude by Smetana, a pulsating toccata by George Antheil; delightful pieces by Ibert, Cyril Scott and Federico Mompou. …" (11/19/06).