Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

“I always feel a sense of homecoming when I perform Grieg yet I don’t think that this is necessarily because I am Norwegian. Grieg’s music has a universal feeling - a sense of drawing the listener in - and that is probably why he remains Norway’s most eminent composer even now, 100 years after his death.” Leif Ove Andsnes

“Andsnes is an aristocrat among pianists who has the gift of uncovering new depths without any loss of spontaneity of the slightest trace of artifice.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 *****

“ Beginning with a (live) spirited, fresh account of the Concerto – the slow movement is spellbinding – Katsaris follows this with “Morgernstimmung” from the first Peer Gynt Suite. Although many of us will have the piano score, few will recall it being played in concert, a further example of this pianist’s omnivorous appetite for the unconventional and willingness to step outside the normal keyboard repertoire.” Gramophone, April 2008 Reissue of the Month

“With his almost Mozartian conception of the Converto, and his fabulously crystal-clear articulation in the Lyric Pieces, Katsaris manages to make these well-worn favourites sound really fresh and spontaneous.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 ****

“The 21-year old Andsnes stripped these concertos of superfluous glitter. But although these performances exude poetic freshness they are at times too reserved. His later Grieg with Jansons is preferable. The Lyric Pieces are characterful.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****