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PortraitThe Norwegian pianist is famous throughoutthe world for his virtuoso performances.He travels the globe, playing topacked houses at the most celebrated concertvenues. Orchestras fight to have him play withthem.After 25 years of spending 250 days on theroad, Andsnes now has a reason to hurry awayfrom a life on tour to his own home in Bergen.The arrival of his daughter Sigrid two yearsago brought an end to the musician’s existenceas he knew it.“I used to think that life at home was difficultto deal with, but now I have put down someroots that make me want to come home. That’swhy the tours are much more intense andcompact than before. A life on the road isprobably not something I would recommend toanyone with small children,” he says laughing.From boywonderto familymanLeifOve Andsnes (42) has been called ‘one of the mostgifted musicians of his generation’ and is hailed by criticsall over the world. This year he is celebrating his 25thanniversary as a concert pianist, but he is far from contentto rest on his laurels. This autumn he embarkedon his most ambitious project to date.By Marius Solberg Anfinsen Photo Chris AadlandA constant travellerWe meet up with the down-to-earth musician inLondon, a city he has played in countless times.He is rehearsing ahead of a Beethoven concertthat he is performing with the PhilharmonicOrchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. The day’sfirst practice session is over. In a few hours heis due to rehearse with the other musicians.Andsnes flew in from New York yesterday, willspend a few days in London in connection withthe concert, then after a long weekend at homewith his family in Norway he will fly back tothe USA for a series of concerts in Los Angeles.He performs around 80 concerts a year thesedays, spending six months on the road.“I was nervous about what it would be liketo have a child. I wondered how on earth I wasgoing to do both things well enough. But I’vediscovered it’s a matter of learning by doing,so when I’m at home I am very focused on that.It’s good to have someone there who lives onlyin the moment and doesn’t give a fig about megoing to Los Angeles the next day when shewants to play. And I do find a good balancebetween being mentally present when I’m athome and being focused on the job when I’mtravelling. For me the music I play and therecords I make are in a way my own flesh andblood, children that I must also take care of,”he says.Four years with BeethovenThe firstborn child of Andsnes’s new projectcame into the world this autumn. He hasdecided to record all of Beethoven’s five piano34 Norwegian in-flight magazine35