Customer Reviews

Leif Ove Andsnes ~ Haydn - Piano Sonatas

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your eyes can be opened to an artist's true worth just by hearing one thing they do that bowls you over. Andsnes is one of those rare pianists who has a formidable technique (and a fabulous sense of rhythm) without overwhelming the piano and playing harshly or smashing the keys down. He has a mixture of wonderful technique and pin-point finger velocity. Just listen to the first three tracks on Amazon (which he plays at a spanking presto) he lifts that piece of Haydn out of all time.

Andsnes is not an eccentric pianist, he's wonderfully musical and rewarding. Everything else I have by Andsnes is great especially the Bartok violin and piano sonatas and the janacek piano album on Virgin.

As for Haydn, he's an underrated genius always unfairly overshadowed by Mozart (no slouch he) but Hadyn can hold his own with his warm, human and unbelievably inventive music in every genre.

Relax and enjoy, an album to cherish

As a declared fan of Alfred Brendel, I must admit that I can hardly accept any other pianist in the vicinity of his special artistry and musical efficiency when t comes to classical Viennese repertory. Rare are those who can scale with as much grace and inspiration (as Brendels') the whole gamut of moods - from witty elegance and melodious serenity to humorous accents and irony - that Joseph Haydn unfolded in his piano sonatas.

Notwithstanding the Norwegian virtuoso Leif Ove Andsnes comes close to my exigencies in Haydn by means of his recording under consideration here comprising no less than five sonatas. Each of them is shaped differently, with special care for both its meaningful and lyrical sides, for drawing its character in proper colors. Lei Ove exhibits an unexpected light of touch while the playful dimension shimmers throughout with joy and vivacity.

All in all it is a refined rendition testifying a profound approach to classical treasure in music. It is favored the essence of the music interpreted rather than its sparkling effect, the quiet thought rather than glamorous display. Much younger than Brendel, Andsnes confirms thus his robust gifts for an intelligent music-making and promises to become in a near future a competitor on equal footing with his legendary colleague for the supremacy in the Viennese repertory.

Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the best pianists in the world for the time being, has also become one of the best Haydn interpretors. This album is excellent, especially Piano Sonata No. 32 in C sharp minor.

Just relax and enjoy the fantastic 1-hour journey with Leif Ove Andsnes as your guide. He plays with such an ease, and shows yet again that Andsnes and Haydn is a perfect match.

Ernst Hogwood Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE (Sinister Period-Practice Enacted to Counter Traditional Recordings Everlastingly) was asleep uneasily at his desk. Twilight had engulfed the hollowed-out volcano. Just as the ghost of David Munrow was about to flagellate him for his flaccid recording of the Beethoven Symphonies, the whiff of a scent roused him from slumber.

I know that metrosexual stench from somewhere, he told himself. Hogwood Blofeld fluttered open his eyes. He was not alone. A stranger was standing at his desk.

"Greetings from Norway, Number One! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Henrik von Bonkstein. I am the manager of Leif Ove Andsnes. Yes, you had a disagreement last time you met. He still wants to join SPECTRE as an agent provocateur!"

"Disagreement! I fed the bugger to the piranhas!" Mozart: Piano Concertos 9 & 18

"My client was wearing anti-piranha underpants at the time. He is alive and well in . . . Narvik. He asked me to come here. He offers salutations! I have brought along his latest disc: his survey of five Haydn piano sonatas. You will like them! He wants to continue making these brisk, lightweight recordings of Haydn and Mozart on a Steinway whilst at the same time advancing the cause of SPECTRE!"

Hogwood Blofeld stared more closely at the bespectacled intruder. The latter had a Captain Ahab style beard and a bald spot on his head that was strangely reflective of light. There was no denying who was the source of the fragrance. And the voice was oddly familiar . . . .

"What are those white things on either side of your head? They're not . . . elastic straps, are they?"

The stranger blushed.

"Of course not. They must be some leftover shaving lotion! Now would you like a copy of the disc? Leif has autographed it for you! It is a collector's item! It is diet-Haydn!"

Number One lent back in his chair.

"There's no need, Bonkstein. I am thoroughly familiar with it. Yes, on a superficial level, whenever Andsnes veers into the classical domain he bears resemblance to our modus operandi: the spartan percussive tone, the non-use of the pedal (he was probably wearing moon-boots during the recording session) and the zippy tempos. That gets you into the car-park here at SPECTRE's hollowed-out volcano but no further. Our evil organisation does not exist to compete: we're here to win. Your boy is no threat whatsoever to that uber-reactionary, Vladimir Horowitz, in Piano Sonata No. 49 (the performance he recorded a few days before his death which he clearly anticipated in his miraculous treatment of the slow movement - Horowitz: The Last Recording). Elsewhere, while Ingrid Haebler might be a minor enemy of SPECTRE, she is an enemy nevertheless. Her 1968 Haydn recital on Philips shares two of the same sonatas - No. 37 in D Major and the wonderful Sonata in C Sharp Minor, No. 36. She uses a fortepiano - good - and she's is so much more vivacious and vibrant than your Norwegian pretty boy it's not funny. Let me tell you this: when Miss Ladylike is kicking sand in your face with ease, it's time for a sabbatical in the very least!"

Number One paused venomously.

"Elsewhere, the finale to the C Sharp Minor sonata is insufferably affected. Has Andsnes no shame or critical facilities whatsoever? It goes to show how moribund EMI was in its latter years - any producer worth their salt would have told the bugger to drop the show-pony stuff but no: it made its way into the final mix! Again, Haebler and the likes of McCabe and Jando (enemy though they be) are untroubled. Say what you like about SPECTRE but we do not tolerate offal!"

This pronouncement hit the stranger like a tonne of bricks. He slumped lifelessly to the floor. In doing so, his fake beard and rubberized bald-patch fell away. Electrified, Number One rose to his feet.

"Welcome back to the volcano, Leif! You were lucky last time. Iron-mesh longjohns are not going to stop Mister Bigglesworth!"

Great cd worth the price clear and crisp performances make Haydn come to life!