Biography

With his commanding technique and searching interpretations, Leif Ove Andsnes has won international acclaim, playing concertos and recitals in the world’s leading concert halls and with its foremost orchestras while building an extensive discography. An avid chamber musician, he is the founding director of the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, which takes place every August on the west coast of Norway. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1994 and was a Shenson Young Artist.

Mr. Andsnes has received Norway’s distinguished honor, Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, as well as the Peer Gynt Prize. He has received honorary doctorates from the Juilliard School and the universities of Bergen and Oslo. He is the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist Award and the Gilmore Artist Award. He was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2013.

Mr. Andsnes was born in Karmøy, Norway, in 1970, and studied at the Bergen Music Conservatory under the renowned Czech professor Jirí Hlinka. He also benefited from the Belgian piano teacher Jacques de Tiège’s advice and influence. Mr. Andsnes is currently an artistic adviser for the Prof. Jirí Hlinka Piano Academy in Bergen, where he gives annual masterclasses. He lives in Bergen with his partner and their three children.

(12/2022)