With his commanding technique and searching interpretations, Leif Ove Andsnes has won worldwide acclaim, performing in the world’s leading concert halls and with its foremost orchestras. Also an avid chamber musician, he is the founding director of the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway.

Andsnes has received Norway’s distinguished honour, Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav, as well as the prestigious Peer Gynt Prize, awarded by members of parliament to prominent Norwegians for their achievements in politics, sports, and culture. In the last year he has received honorary doctorates from both New York’s Juilliard School and the University of Bergen. He is also 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 and, saluting his many achievements, Vanity Fair named Andsnes one of its ‘Best of the Best’ in 2005.

Leif Ove Andsnes was born in Karmøy, Norway in 1970, and studied at the Bergen Music Conservatory under the renowned Czech professor Jiri Hlinka. He has also received invaluable advice from the Belgian piano teacher Jacques de Tiège who, like Hlinka, has greatly influenced his style and philosophy of playing. He is currently an Artistic Adviser for the Professor Jiri Hlinka Piano Academy in Bergen where he gives an annual masterclass to participating students.

Andsnes lives in Bergen and in June 2010 achieved one of his proudest accomplishments to date, becoming a father for the first time. His family expanded in May 2013 with the welcome arrival of twins.