San Francisco Classical Voice

Leif Ove Andsnes is, almost to a fault, a straightforward, honest and thoughtful player. Some pianists seem to generate each rhythmic pulse, and the music lives harrowingly and excitingly on the edge of these moment-by-moment choices. Of this type of artist the names of Cortot, Schnabel and Horowitz, and more recently Argerich and Uchida, come to mind. Andsnes seems to have his feet planted firmly in the other pianistic camp, inhabited by such honorable names as Rubinstein, Solomon and Lipatti and, again more recently, Ax and Ohlsson, in which the rhythmic field is taken as a given, and the music-making and poetry occur richly and perhaps more serenely within this frame. In other words, the grazing takes place in the pasture, not outside the fence.

Of course this is a writer's generalization, and Andsnes is as capable of a heart-breaking rubato as Horowitz was of playing in time. But it is a generalization which helps pinpoint Andsnes' strengths and very rare weaknesses. At the beginning of the Schumann the playing, which was always clear and musical, seemed a bit heavy rhythmically, and while not overpedalled at least thickly pedalled. (I have always believed that the theme's opening chord should be followed by four unpedalled fast notes — tum ta ta ta ta tum — but I have yet to hear a pianist play it this way.) This may be the fault of the piece, which is somewhat problematic, but the feeling of a slight thickness persisted through the Romance, which ought to be almost neurotic in its plaintive, poignant repetitiveness, and the Scherzino, which could have been just a bit sillier. But then Andsnes caught fire and the recital, which was good to begin with, just kept getting better and better. What might have felt plain and heavy in the opening movement was gloriously alive and sparkling by the last movement.

Very clearly, Andsnes is an artist of great control and taste: during this long program he let out the full stops of the piano only three times: at the conclusion of the last two Schumann movements and in L'Isle joyeuse. Even the final presto of the Schubert was only as fast and loud as it should have been in that context, though there are few pianists who have the self-control not to go for broke at the end of such a huge work.

The Debussy etudes, “Pour les sonorités opposées” and “Pour les arpèges composées,” were beautiful, full of color but never precious. L'Isle joyeuse was stunningly played. Perhaps the central "undulating" section could be accused of lacking the last degree of sensuousness, but the perfection and sheer good taste of the pianism surely warmed the heart of every pianist who was present.

The Schubert was, bluntly put, a great performance, serious and very simply played. The artistry was always transparent so that I sometimes felt as if I were reading the score rather than hearing an "interpretation". Two days after the recital I am still savoring musical memories, and they are indeed musical and not about the feelings or "chops" of Leif Ove Andsnes, which is a high compliment. Perhaps the most deeply moving moments of the evening were in the Andante Sostenuto, where twice the music sinks into B-flat Major, and Andsnes let those haunting ghosts flicker across Herbst Theater with utter grace and sadness. While we love every type of artist (who wouldn't want to hear what Cortot or Argerich would do with the Schubert B-flat Major Sonata?), and we celebrate the diversity of this wide musical world, including the antics of Lang Lang and Kissin, there is a particularly refreshing feeling that Andsnes' kind of playing arouses in us — a calm clear joy that springs from a deep and contemplative place.

The two beautifully-played encores were the first Impromptu of Chopin and Walter Gieseking's delightful transcription of Richard Strauss' song, "Ständchen."

So with relief I say, "Piano playing is alive and well", and I say "Happy Anniversary, Ruth Felt and San Francisco Performances (Many happy returns as long as they are on this level of artistry)," and I say "Keep that truck with the lights parked out in front of Herbst Theater — we're not done celebrating!"