Leif Ove Andsnes SIBELIUS

"Everyone was astonished that there can be a major composer out there with such beautiful, accessible music that people don’t know. These are intriguing works with the wonderful Sibelius qualities we know. I really, really believe in this music and I want people to hear it.“ (Leif Ove Andsnes) 

Neglected and in many cases misunderstood, Sibelius’s piano works remain something of secret. The celebrated Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes is on a mission to share them. As he readily confesses, they are uneven in quality, some sounding little more than short, sweet musings, others like shadowy imitations of Chopin or Liszt. All appear worlds away from the raw splendour of the symphonic works. Or perhaps not. The three lyric pieces of Kyllikki, Op 41 (1904), inspired by Finland’s epic, The Kalevala, or the Five Sketches (1929) do echo the timbre and mood of his orchestral writing. On closer listening you feel a door to Sibelius’s mysterious world has been unlocked. And the playing is beautiful. (Fiona Maddocks / The Guardian)