SFist Interviews Leif-Ove Andsnes

You keep coming back, you really like SF, don't you? Have you established a routine in SF by now?
L-O. Andsnes: Yes, I like San Francisco very much. The last couple of times I have been here, I have stayed at the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill. It is an interesting area and I love to walk around the neighborhood. Also, having grown up by the sea in Norway, I love to be close to the water. So I am always going down to the piers as well.

Above, we mention solo performances, accompaniments, orchestral stuff. Some pianists seem to focus on the concerto repertoire, some on the recitals, you do it all. Is it easy to switch between these roles?
L-O. Andsnes: The only problem with switching often is the amount of repertory I have to digest. Otherwise I don’t find it difficult to switch between the different roles; music-making is essentially about the same things. Finding your place in the cosmos of the piece is of course important, and I naturally have to project more sound when I play with orchestra than when I accompany songs.

Your recital on Sunday includes Beethoven, Sibelius, Grieg, Debussy. What were you looking for in these pieces, and how they relate to you? to each other?
L-O. Andsnes: I build programs in different ways, and in this program there are lots of contrasting composers and expressions. The Bach Toccata is a quite dramatic piece, like most of his pieces in E minor. The Beethoven is an unusual piece; he says that it is a Sonata “quasi una fantasia”- almost like a fantasy. I think a lot of this music is clearly a result of Beethoven’s phenomenal ability to improvise; he was known as the best improviser of the day, and I would die to hear what he sounded like. I bet his playing was full of surprises and sharp contrasts, which is also the character of this sonata - one never really knows what will happen around the next corner.

What we hear/see/read from Norway from afar, it's mostly Grieg/Munch/Ibsen. Do you wish you had been there 100 years ago?
L-O. Andsnes: Of course I would have loved to meet these great personalities, but Norway was a much more provincial place 100 years ago. Today there is a lot more happening culturally, and it is an interesting society to take part in.

In January, you performed Brahms 2nd piano concerto, and the NYTimes reported you had a chemically charged relation with conductor Ricardo Muti. You play this spring the same piece here and down in L.A. How do you make the relationship electrically charged with MTT, or with Esa-Pekka Salonen?
L-O. Andsnes: A piece like Brahms 2. concerto, which is almost as much a symphony as a piano concerto, will naturally differ quite a bit with the different conductors I play with. All of the conductors you mention are personalities - ones that will put their stamp on the interpretation. This is what I am looking for; I don’t want to have a conductor who says he will follow me, I want to work with conductors who have point of view and who I can learn something from. From my experience, this is really the case with MTT. I love playing for him; he is an investigating musician, always looking for new ideas.

When do we get to see you perform some Kurtag and Dalbavie here?
L-O. Andsnes: I have no idea. I like both composers, but have not played their music this season. I am playing Dalbavie’s piano concerto, which he wrote for me, next year in Amsterdam and Paris.

It turns out the last person we interviewed wears exclusively Dior on stage. We feel we should ask male performers too what they wear? How important is the wardrobe/appearance? Do audiences react differently if you have different outfits? Or if you do more expressive/emphatic gestures?
L-O. Andsnes: Yes, I am sure audiences react differently to lots of tricks. But ultimately I am there to serve the music, and I must be as sincere as possible towards the composer, the piece and the audience. Nevertheless, I am also fond of nice clothing, and am lucky to have an agreement with Miyake, which provides me with concert clothing. Their suits are elegant and comfortable to wear on stage.

How long do you get to stay home, as opposed to on the road? How do you deal with traveling stress?
L-O. Andsnes: I am travelling 200 to 250 days in the year, so there is not too much time at home. But that has been my life for a number of years, and I don’t necessarily get more stressed on the road than at home. What makes me stressed is when I have to do a big piece for the first time - that is always a burden. The recital program that I am playing at Davies is a piece that I will have performed about 20 times this spring. I think I will be quite confident that I know it well. It’s a nice feeling to have a whole program like that “under your belt.”

A couple days before your performance, we'll have a concert by M-A. Hamelin, playing his own compositions/adaptations. Are you tempted to write any music of your own?
L-O. Andsnes: No, I don’t have the genetic material for that talent. I wish I had, and admire Hamelin's versatility as a performer greatly.