Grieg: Lyric Pieces

Between 1867 and 1901, Grieg published 10 books of "Lyric Pieces" for solo piano. From these, Leif Ove Andsnes has drawn a representative selection of 24 melodies from the first, "Arietta", to the final, "Remembrances". While Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor is known the world over (Andsnes has made a celebrated recording) these highly expressive pieces span virtually the length of the composer's career, revealing a poetic sensibility midway between Chopin and Debussy. In so far as Grieg drew inspiration from his native folk music, the pieces illustrate a benign nationalism, and in the same way Andsnes carries the expectation of being a "Norwegian" artist with a refined musicality, refusing to unnecessarily romanticise what is in the main simple, lyrical music. Indeed, apart from the playfulness of the "March of the Trolls" and the exuberant "Homeward" and "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen", there is a wonderful impressionistic quality throughout this very satisfying recording. Andsnes finds a lucid questioning in "Illusion" and more pastoral qualities in "The Brook" and "Evening in the Mountains", aspects of Norway still being expressed two generations later by composer Geirr Tveitt. Andsnes is the first Norwegian pianist to attain international stature, and playing this music on his compatriot's own Steinway gives this first-rate recital an unrivalled authenticity. --Gary S Dalki