Leif Ove Andsnes embarks on a major project which marks a new departure for the internationally acclaimed pianist and exclusive EMI Classics artist. Together with South African-born visual artist Robin Rhode, they have created a special program entitled Pictures Reframed which centers on Mussorgsky’s epic piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition combining music, video and still imagery. EMI Classics has released the project as a standard CD (EMI 98360) and as well as this Special Luxury Collector’s Edition (includes CD, DVD and Book).
Taking inspiration from Mussorgsky’s work, Robin Rhode created the digital animation “Promenade” in 2008, which shaped his vision for this project. A variant of this original animation is one of the visual sequences for Pictures Reframed. With a fresh and constantly changing interplay between actor and drawing it fittingly sets the scene for the musical narrative.
The Special Luxury Collector's Edition of Pictures Reframed includes both a DVD and CD packaged together in an exhibition catalog-style hardback book with a wide selection of images from the creation and final performance version of Pictures Reframed.
“Leif Ove Andsnes plays Pictures at an Exhibition with a combination of dedication, virtuosity and understanding which few if any other living pianists bring to it, so – loving the piece as he obviously does – it was entirely understandable that he should wish to draw in a new audience with the complement of images. … Rather than focus on Victor Hartmann's original paintings, some of which no longer exist, Andsnes and Robin Rhode have created a completely fresh adaptation using animation and film, and much thought has clearly gone into the choice of images. This works well in the linking 'Promenades' with images of Rhode moving as it were from one picture to another; it also works well at climactic moments such as 'The Great Gate of Kiev', a grand piano is engulfed in torrents of water unleashed from a gigantic lock gate and in 'Bydlo' where the images are menacing black-and-white film of the old railway station in Johannesburg with its echoes of Auschwitz.” -- www.classicalsource.com
