Track Listing

1. Arietta, lyric piece for piano, Op. 12/1
2. Waltz, lyric piece for piano, Op. 12/2
3. Norsk (Norwegian Melody), lyric piece for piano, Op. 12/6
4. Folkevise (Folk Song), lyric piece for piano, Op. 12/5
5. Canon, lyric piece for piano, Op. 38/8
6. Elegy, lyric piece for piano, Op. 38/6
7. Waltz, lyric piece for piano, Op. 38/7
8. Melody, lyric piece for piano, Op. 47/3
9. Troldtog (March of the Dwarfs), lyric piece for piano, Op. 54/3
10. Nocturne, lyric piece for piano, Op. 54/4
11. Gade, lyric piece for piano, Op. 57/2
12. Illusion, lyric piece for piano, Op. 57/3
13. Heimweh (Homesickness), lyric piece for piano, Op. 57/6
14. Hjemad (Homeward), lyric piece for piano, Op. 62/6
15. Baekken (Brooklet), lyric piece for piano, Op. 62/4
16. Drømmesyn (Phantom), lyric piece for piano, Op. 62/5
17. Sylfide (Sylph), lyric piece for piano, Op. 62/1
18. Bådnlåt (At the Cradle), lyric piece for piano, Op. 68/5
19. Bryllupsdag på Troldhaugen (Wedding Day at Troldhaugen), lyric piece for piano, Op. 65/6
20. Aften på højfjeldet (Evening in the Mountains), lyric piece for piano, Op. 68/4
21. For dine fødder (At your Feet), lyric piece for piano, Op. 68/3
22. Someraften (Summer's Eve), lyric piece for piano, Op. 71/2
23. Forbi (Gone), lyric piece for piano, Op. 71/6
24. Efterklang (Remembrances), lyric piece for piano, Op. 71/7

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63107 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Grieg's 66 Lyric Pieces range from simple pretty tunes like the early "Arietta" that opens this disc to more extended pieces like the dashing "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" to impressionistic miniature tone poems like the late "Summer Evening." Here, Andsnes plays 24 of them, well-chosen to cover a representative selection from the complete sets. He plays them beautifully, with a lovely tone, virtuoso polish when such is called for, as in the express ride of "March of the Trolls," and poetic depth of feeling, as in "The Brook," where in his interpretation you can almost smell the grass and see the light ripples of the water. Gilels's selection on DG, with minimum overlap, is still unmatched, but Andsnes's well-recorded recital is a source of endless pleasures. Of added interest, the recording was made at Grieg's home, now a museum, on his 1892 Steinway. --Dan Davis

From International Record Review - subscribe now
From time to time pianists have experimented with recording on less than full-sized instruments and/or on especially well-preserved or reconditioned pre-modern Steinways. Mikhail Pletnev's 1998 recital on Rachmaninov's Steinway in his villa near Lucerne was an outstandingly successful example (available on DG 459 634-2). And here is another.As Leif Ove Andsnes tells us, Grieg's model B Steinway of 1892 sits 'in the high-ceilinged, wood-floored and wood-panelled drawing room at Troldhaugen', the villa on the outskirts of Bergen now preserved as a Grieg museum. The instrument itself was presented to the composer and his wife for their Silver Wedding anniversary. For once it's impossible to regret that the recording captures so much of an empty-room acoustic. Transparency is the first quality that strikes you. This is partly a feature of the instrument itself, with its absence of excessive resonance, its harp-like bass, nut-brown middle register and bell-like treble; and it's partly that the open perspectives of the recording allow you to imagine the surroundings of pure Norwegian air.As with all the best early-piano recordings, this means that the instrument can be pushed to the limit without screaming blue murder. Andsnes can lay into the 'March of the Trolls' from Op. 54, for instance, without worrying that the sound-picture might saturate, and the result is a wonderfully gleeful elan. Although this and the 'Nocturne' from the same set were composed the year before the piano was manufactured, they sound as though written with its qualities in mind. In the 'Canon'from Op. 38 Andsnes can pedal richly without endangering clarity; the resulting halo effect is one that composers of Grieg's time knew well but that the modern piano struggles to re-create.The same instrument played by a less-than-comprehensively equipped pianist might not occasion any special comment. But Andsnes displays a truly impressive level of mastery and a virtually ideal blend of affection and unselfconscious nuance. Being Norwegian and having imbibed this music with his mother's milk is only part of the story. Listen to his compatriot, Hakon Austbo, and you will find Lisztian over-statement and a curiously unsure sense of idiom.Andsnes's new disc makes the perfect complement to his 1992 selection of Lyric Pieces (from which happily only three items are duplicated) and to Emil Gilels's still classic survey. David Fanning

Customer Reviews

Piano-music lovers: get them both!
When I first began seriously listening to classical/instrumental music I wanted to build a collection of cds that would cover all the great works. At first I thought this might not seem too difficult, until I began realizing that many works have many "must-have" interpretations. For example, In Ashenkazy's "Favorite Piano Works of Chopin" I thought I had the definitive Chopin recording...until I heard significantly different and fascinating interpretations of much of the same works by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, followed by Martha Argerich.

And the same holds true for the lyric pieces of Grieg, first encountered by Emil Gilels on his famous DG recording of the 70's, and now by Leif Ove Andsnes. Both of these recordings take me to significantly different musical places, and hence I'm glad to have listened to each at least 50 times now. It doesn't have to be "either or" when it comes to deciding which to buy. Listen to both and I guarantee each will find separate places in your heart. In Gilels you may find more elegance and sensitivity to each note, while in Andsnes you'll tend to find more force, uplift, and variation of intensity. In either case I'm sure Grieg would have realized that both have lived the dreams that are promised within his work to all great, dedicated performers.

Andsnes Wins A New Fan
Guilty. I admit not having taken the time to listen to any of Leif Ove Andsnes recordings until I recently acquired this one at an Ebay auction (at a price that was far too good to pass up). Now I may have to seek out his other recordings as well beacasue this one is clearly a winner.

I grew up with the now legendary Emil Gilels recording of Grieg and Andsnes' new recording is worthy of comparison in the same breath. There is little overlap between the two recordings, eight pieces, out of the twenty played by Gilels and twenty-four by Andsnes. Ironically, both recordings begin and end with the same selections but Andsnes offers some of the more lively pieces in his set.

What really makes this recording novel is the use of Grieg's own Steinway piano from the 1890's in his studio. It is a wonderful instrument with a very rich sound, well suited to these very intimiate miniatures which are a whole musical genre unto themselves. Andsnes does not have to hold back because this piano can deliver and its sonority packs a very suprising punch. There are a few of the quirks unique to older pianos, but they only add to the overall performance. Listen and learn.

Perhaps my acquaintance with Andsnes was overdue, but this is a very fine recording--faithful to the instrument and its surroundings; and like the music of Grieg, something to be cherished. If you already own the Gilels recording, this is a nice addition too, or vice versa. I plan on enjoying both for a very long time. Thank you EMI for doing something worthwhile.

Distinctive, varied, and a good complement to Gilels's set
This review is for three categories of people considering the purchase of this CD.

1. For those who are not familiar with Grieg's Lyric Pieces: "enchanting" may be the best word to summarize this set of subtle, lyrical, and exotic short piano pieces. Grieg has a distinctive voice as a composer, and these pieces showcase his ideas well. Modal harmonies and Scandanavian sounds mix effortlessly with traditional romantic beauty to create a sparkling spectrum of moods and textures. If you are a fan of piano music looking for something other than Beethoven and Chopin, try Grieg next.

2. For those who have the Gilels CD and wonder whether to get this one too: YES. Fourteen of the pieces on this CD are not on Gilels's, including favorites like March of the Dwarfs, Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, and the Waltz in A minor. On at least a few of the pieces that overlap, I'll admit a slight preference for Gilels, but even so, there is little redundancy, because the differences in interpretation are often fascinating in their own right.

3. For those deciding whether to start with this or Gilels: I recommend this one, for one main reason. Andsnes plays a few more of the early pieces than Gilels. Grieg's style changed quite a bit over the years, so I feel that the more rounded set on this CD would probably make a better introduction. Still, you won't go wrong with either.