Norway features again in the first of the Piano Master Series concerts with the return of the acclaimed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. The New York Times has said he is ‘a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight’ and the Wall Street Journal describes him as ‘one of the most gifted musicians of his generation’.

For the first concert in the Piano Master Series, he will perform a programme that includes music by Sibelius as well as Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin.

PROGRAMME
Sibelius 
Kyllikki - Three Lyric Pieces, Op. 41
The Birch, Op. 75, No. 4
The Spruce, Op. 75, No. 5
The Forest Lake, Op. 114, No. 3
Song in the Forest, Op. 114, No. 4
Spring Vision, Op. 114, No. 5

Beethoven 
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major, “The Hunt”, Op. 31, No. 3

Debussy 
Estampes: No. 2 La soirée dans Grenade 
Étude 7 Pour les degrés chromatiques 
Étude 11 Pour les arpèges composes 
Étude 5 Pour les octaves 

Chopin 
Impromptu No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 29
Étude No. 2 in A flat major (Trois nouvelles études)
Nocturne No. 4 in F major, Op. 15, No. 1
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op 52

Pre-concert talk at 6.30pm with Prof. Ray Keary, Royal Irish Academy.
In this talk, Ray Keary will use the programme of the evening’s concert to explore how important is a descriptive title to the enjoyment and appreciation of a work. Can music express a sense of nation and place if it doesn’t have a descriptive title? When a composer gives such a title to piece do they in fact limit the imaginative scope of the listener, or is it a helpful springboard for the imagination?

For tickets and more details, visit http://bit.ly/1LJMSd4