The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University has awarded Leif Ove Andsnes the $75,000 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance.
Established in 2005, the biennial Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance honors pianists who have achieved the highest levels of national and international recognition. Previous winners include Richard Goode (2006), Stephen Hough (2008), Yefim Bronfman (2010), Murray Perahia (2012), Garrick Ohlsson (2014), Emanuel Ax (2016), Marc-André Hamelin (2018), Sir András Schiff (2021), and Maria João Pires (2023).
"I am very honored to receive the Jean Gibel Lane Prize," Andsnes said. "I am very much looking forward to spending some time at Northwestern University and connecting with the students and audience there."
In addition to a $75,000 cash award, the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize includes a public recital and two nonconsecutive residencies at the Bienen School of Music. During his first residency in March 2026, Andsnes will engage with students and faculty in activities such as master classes, chamber music coachings, and question-and-answer sessions. He will present a public recital as part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series on Monday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Galvin Recital Hall. Andsnes's second Bienen School residency will take place in February 2027.
"From his award-winning and captivating recordings to his artistic partnerships with many of the most highly respected musical institutions around the globe, Leif Ove Andsnes represents the highest level of artistry," said Jonathan Bailey Holland, dean of the Bienen School of Music. "We are pleased to recognize him with the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize and delighted that he will have the opportunity to work with Bienen students."
Leif Ove Andsnes
The New York Times calls Leif Ove Andsnes "a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight," and the Wall Street Journal names him "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation." With his commanding technique and searching interpretations, the celebrated Norwegian pianist has won acclaim worldwide, performing recitals and concertos in the world's leading concert halls and with its foremost orchestras, besides being an active recording artist. Andsnes's discography comprises more than 50 titles. Spanning repertoire from the Baroque to the present day, these have been recognized with eleven Grammy nominations, seven Gramophone Awards, and numerous other international honors. Leif Ove Andsnes: The Complete Warner Classics Edition 1990-2010, a 36-CD retrospective of his EMI and Virgin recordings, was released to acclaim in 2023.
An avid chamber musician, Andsnes is the founding director of the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, was co-artistic director of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music for nearly two decades and served as music director of California's 2012 Ojai Music Festival. He was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2013 and has received honorary doctorates from New York's Juilliard School and Norway's University of Bergen. As first artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Andsnes led the ensemble from the keyboard in two major, multi-season projects - "The Beethoven Journey" and "Mozart Momentum 1785/86" - both of which resulted in award-winning Sony Classical sets.
The recipient of both the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist Award and the Gilmore Artist Award, Andsnes has also received Norway's Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and the prestigious Peer Gynt Prize. He has curated Carnegie Hall's "Perspectives" series, been the subject of the London Symphony Orchestra's "Artist Portrait Series," and undertaken season-long artistic residencies with the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Sweden's Gothenburg Symphony. Andsnes studied at the Bergen Music Conservatory under Jirí Hlinka, also receiving invaluable advice from Jacques de Tiège.
He lives with his wife and their three children in Bergen, where he is an artistic adviser at the city's Prof. Jirí Hlinka Piano Academy.
