Biography
Recognized as Norway's leading pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes maintains an expansive repertoire anchored by the compositions of Norwegian Edvard Grieg yet stretching from Mozart through the central Romantic literature and onward into twentieth-century works. A perennial favorite with record buyers worldwide, he has amassed an extensive discography across Virgin Classics, EMI, Warner Classics, and Sony Classical, among other imprints.
Born April 7, 1970, in the modest southwestern Norwegian city of Karmøy, Andsnes developed an early affinity for Grieg's piano music and enrolled at the Bergen Conservatory in 1986 to study under Jiri Hlinka. The following year he presented his first Oslo recital and received the Hindemith Prize. International engagements followed swiftly: he appeared at the 1989 Edinburgh Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic and made his American debut in 1990, joining the Cleveland Orchestra under Neeme Järvi. Throughout the 1990s he collaborated with nearly every major orchestra and performed at leading venues such as the BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, and even a New York City Apple store. He also undertook tours with the Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, and Danish Radio Orchestra. In the chamber-music sphere he worked with Christian and Tanya Tetzlaff; in 1991 he established the Risør Festival of Chamber Music in Norway and guided it until 2010. An admirer of Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti, Andsnes has developed a similarly translucent and luminous interpretive approach.
His recording activities have drawn consistent critical praise. The first album, partnering cellist Truls Mørk in Chopin and Schumann, appeared on Norway's Simax label in 1990. He joined Virgin Classics the next year and moved to EMI in the late 1990s. Numerous releases surfaced on Warner Classics during the mid-2000s, and in 2012—the year he issued five major-label recordings—he signed with Sony Classical to launch a Beethoven Journey project featuring the composer's piano concertos performed with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and directed from the keyboard by Andsnes himself. A 2018 Sony album presented Chopin's ballades and nocturnes. Grammy nominations have included a 2019 nod for Schumann lieder recorded with Matthias Goerne.
Born April 7, 1970, in the modest southwestern Norwegian city of Karmøy, Andsnes developed an early affinity for Grieg's piano music and enrolled at the Bergen Conservatory in 1986 to study under Jiri Hlinka. The following year he presented his first Oslo recital and received the Hindemith Prize. International engagements followed swiftly: he appeared at the 1989 Edinburgh Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic and made his American debut in 1990, joining the Cleveland Orchestra under Neeme Järvi. Throughout the 1990s he collaborated with nearly every major orchestra and performed at leading venues such as the BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, and even a New York City Apple store. He also undertook tours with the Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, and Danish Radio Orchestra. In the chamber-music sphere he worked with Christian and Tanya Tetzlaff; in 1991 he established the Risør Festival of Chamber Music in Norway and guided it until 2010. An admirer of Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti, Andsnes has developed a similarly translucent and luminous interpretive approach.
His recording activities have drawn consistent critical praise. The first album, partnering cellist Truls Mørk in Chopin and Schumann, appeared on Norway's Simax label in 1990. He joined Virgin Classics the next year and moved to EMI in the late 1990s. Numerous releases surfaced on Warner Classics during the mid-2000s, and in 2012—the year he issued five major-label recordings—he signed with Sony Classical to launch a Beethoven Journey project featuring the composer's piano concertos performed with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and directed from the keyboard by Andsnes himself. A 2018 Sony album presented Chopin's ballades and nocturnes. Grammy nominations have included a 2019 nod for Schumann lieder recorded with Matthias Goerne.
Albums

"Notturno" - Piano from the Heart
2025

Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
2025

Who We Are
2024

Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 11 & Fantasie, Op. 17
2023

Leif Ove Andsnes Plays Schumann
2023

Leif Ove Andsnes Plays Schubert
2023

Leif Ove Andsnes Plays Rachmaninov
2023

Leif Ove Andsnes Plays Haydn
2023

Nielsen: Piano Pieces & Violin Sonata No. 2
2023

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 "Jeunehomme", 17, 18 & 20
2023

Dvorák: Poetic Tone Pictures, Op.85
2022

Leif Ove Andsnes Plays Mozart Concertos
2022

Mozart Momentum - 1786
2022

Edvard Grieg
2022

Grieg: 5 Songs, Op. 69: No. 2, Til min Dreng
2021

Grieg: 6 Songs, Op. 25: No. 2, En Svane
2021

Grieg: Haugtussa, Op. 67: No. 4, Møte
2021

Mozart Momentum - 1785
2021

Ketil Hvoslef: Piano Concerto · Ein Traumspiel · Barabbas
2019

Chopin
2018

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Concerto & Other Works for 2 Pianos
2018

Sibelius
2017

The Beethoven Journey: The Complete Piano Concertos
2014

The Beethoven Journey: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 & Fantasia in C Minor, Op. 80 "Choral Fantasy"
2014

The Beethoven Journey: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4
2014

The Beethoven Journey: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3
2014

Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 - 3
2012

Grieg: Piano Concerto & Lyric Pieces
2012

Grieg: Klavierkonzert, Lyrische Stücke
2012

Rachmaninov: Complete Piano Concertos
2012

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
2012

The Very Best of: Leif Ove Andsnes
2011

Schumann: Complete Works for Piano Trio
2011

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4
2010

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15
2009

Shadows of Silence
2009

Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas, D. 958 - 960 & D. 850 "Gasteiner"
2008

Schubert: The Wanderer - Lieder & Fragments
2008

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 17 & 20
2008

Ballad for Edvard Grieg
2007

Horizons - A Personal Collection of Piano Encores
2006

Horizons
2006

Janacek/ Neilsen: Piano Works
2006

Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2
2006

Schubert: Winterreise, D. 911
2005

Schubert: Piano Sonata, D. 960 & Lieder
2005

Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20, D. 959 & Lieder
2005

Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3, Etudes & Mazurkas
2005

Bartók: Violin Sonatas Nos 1, 2 & Sonata for Solo Violin
2004

Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3
2004

Schubert: Piano Sonata, Op. 53, D. 850 & Lieder
2003

Grieg & Liszt: Piano Concertos
2003

Grieg: Lyric Pieces
2002

Janácek: Piano Music
2001

Liszt: Piano Recital
2001

Chopin: Cello Sonata G Minor; Schumann: Adagio & Allegro Op. 70 Etc.
1999

Prokofjev: Piano Concerto No.3; Symphony No.7
1999

The Long, Long Winter Night
1998

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117
1998

Haydn: Piano Sonatas
1992

Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 - 3, Mazurkas, Op. 17 & Études
1992

Grieg/Liszt - Piano Concertos
1991

Grieg: Piano Concerto, 6 Lyric Pieces - Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2
1991
Singles







