Geirr Tveitt - Sonata No. 29; Folk Tunes; Songs (Leif Ove Andsnes)

Information

Composer: Geirr Tveitt

• Piano Sonata No. 29, Op. 129 (Sonata etere)
• Fifty Folk Tunes from Hardanger, Op. 150 (selections)
• Songs

Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Solveig Andsnes, vocals

Date: 2026

Label: Simax Classics

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Leif Ove Andsnes presents the music of Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt in a recording for Simax Classics centered on Piano Sonata No. 29, Sonate etere, alongside selections from Fifty Folk Tunes from Hardanger and a group of songs performed with his sister, singer Solveig Andsnes. The project reflects Andsnes’s ambitious performance cycle of the sonata across major international venues, where it has been praised for its scale and originality. Tveitt’s work, shaped by folk material and modernist harmony, is notable for its vivid color and structural intensity, particularly in the sonata’s variation-based design. The repertoire also carries historical significance, as much of Tveitt’s output was lost in a fire in 1970, leaving this sonata among his most important surviving works.

Geirr Tveitt (1908–1981), born Nils Tveit, was a Norwegian composer, pianist, and teacher and a significant figure in 20th-century Norwegian musical life. His output was strongly rooted in national folk traditions, particularly those of the Hardanger region, which he integrated into orchestral and piano works. Among his major contributions are multiple piano concertos, suites, and works for Hardanger fiddle, as well as the well-known cycle Fifty Folk Tunes from Hardanger. Much of his unpublished music was tragically lost in a fire shortly before his death, but the surviving works continue to demonstrate his distinctive blend of folk-inspired melody and expanded tonal language within orchestral and pianistic forms.