
Fresh from galvanising the BBC Proms 2015
with his Beethoven journey and enlightening television screens with his
documentary Concerto, he will return to London for the Barbican’s 2016 LSO
Artist Spotlight. Over four evenings, Andsnes will play with the orchestra, in
recital and alongside some equally-vaunted friends, covering a repertoire that spans
the whole of the romantic era.
The season begins with two sessions with
the London Symphony Orchestra, each of which will see Andses tackle one of the
great concerti. First, on 8 May, he will play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 (1785), originally played by the composer
himself and later treasured by Beethoven and Brahms. It will be followed by
Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 (1973), a
work of Wagnerian dimensions that the composer repeatedly revised. Daniel
Harding, LSO Prinipal Guest Conductor, will wave the baton. A few days later,
on 12 May, his colleague Michael Tillson Thomas (Rhapsody in Blue) will take over. After Andsnes plays Schumann’s Piano Concerto (1845) – one of the
cornerstones of romanticism – the orchestra will launch into the most
irrepressible and exuberant of symphonies, Beethoven’s No. 9 (1824).
Then, on 28 May at Milton Court, there is a
very special concert indeed. Brahms’ Piano Quartets (1861; 1875) are
chamber pieces with the dimensions of a symphony, at turns impassioned and intimate.
To play all three, Andsnes has drawn together a group of the world’s
finest soloists: the ever-precise Christian Tetzlaff on violin, the charismatic
Tabea Zimmermann on viola and the mesmerising Clemens Hagen on cello. All
four musicians are a huge draw individually. Together, they will be essential.
All good things must come to an end, and
Andsnes’ time with the LSO does on 10 June with a solo recital. It begins in
the realm of nature, with several Sibelius works and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 (1802), often
nicknamed ‘The Hunt.’ Afterwards, there’s the impressionist beauty of Debussy,
before the series closes with three Chopin pieces. It looks to be a fitting
close to a must-see series.
What | Leif Ove Andsnes Spotlight, Barbican Centre |
Where | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS | MAP |
Nearest tube | Barbican (underground) |
When |
On 08 May 16, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM On 12 May 16, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM On 28 May 16, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM On 10 Jun 16, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM |
Price | £10-40; 15-30; 10-29 |
Website | Click here to book via the Barbican website |