Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto and Symphony No. 7 – Leif Ove Andsnes

Leif Ove Andsnes and Prokofiev

Leif Ove Andsnes is considered as one of Norway´s leading and most outstanding musicians. Andsnes has won the highest number of Spellemannpriser (Norwegian Grammy), with eleven awards, and has recorded numerous albums for a range of prestigious record labels, including a recording Chopin and Schumann on SIMAX Classics (PSC1063). On this album, the well-known musician performs Prokofiev´s “Piano Concerto No. 3” and “Symphony No. 7” with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Ole Kristian Ruud.

Written during Prokofiev´s stay in the USA, the Third Piano Concerto is in three movements with the second divided into five variations which are differentiated from one another by tone colour. The third movement returns to a toccata-like style, but is accentuated with more energy and rhythmic accentuation. Prokofiev´s Seventh Symphony, his last complete work, premiered at the height of the cold war in 1952 a work criticised for being “bourgeois music” (New York Times). Today, however, we are able to judge the music more objectively and it is regarded as one of his most beautiful works; clear, attractive, wistful but definitely not weak. Leif Ove Andsnes´ and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra´s renditions of Prokofiev´s works are truly of world-class standards, showcasing the masterful skills of this near-legendary pianist even at a young age.