Grieg: Lyric Pieces (selections)

“Andsnes penetrates the psyche of this music, and his playing of consummate artistry and insight. Not only does he have keen poetic feeling but magisterial pianistic finesse” – BBC Music Magazine

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Track Listing

Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op.12 (Book 1)
1. No.1 Arietta
2. No. 2 Waltz
3. No.6 Norwegian Melody
4. No.5 Folk Melody

Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op.38 (Book 2)
5. No.8 Canon
6. No.6 Elegy
7. No.7 Waltz

8. Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op.47 (Book 4): No.3 Melody

Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op.54 (Book 5)
9. No.3 March of the Trolls (Troldtog)
10. No. 4 Notturno

Excerpt, Grieg: Lyric Pieces VI (6), Op. 57
11. No.2 Gade
12. No.3 Illusion
13. No.6 Homesickness (Heimweh)

Excerpt, Grieg: Lyric Pieces VII (6), Op. 62
14. No.6 Homeward (Hjemad)
15. No.4 The Brook (Baekken)
16. No.5 Phantom (Drömmesyn)
17. No.1 Sylph (Sylfide)

18. Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op.68 (Book 9): No.5 Cradle song (Bådnlåt)
19. Grieg: Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (from Lyric Pieces Op. 65)

Excerpt, Grieg: Lyric Pieces IX (6), Op. 68
20. No.4 Evening in the mountains (Aften på höjfeldet)
21. No.3 At your feet (For dine födder)

Excerpt, Grieg: Lyric Pieces X (7), Op. 71
22. No.2 Summer evening (Sommeraften)
23. No.6 Gone (Forbi)
24. No.7 Remembrances (Efterklang)

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“Once again on home ground, Andsnes reminds you of his capacity to go directly to the heart of the matter. Taking you on a journey of increasing subtlety and introspection, he makes you aware that so much of this music is for those long winter nights. At the same time the music is so richly varied: ‘Melody’s insistent dactylic rhythm creates a strange unsettling poetic ambience, while the central oasis of calm in ‘Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’ would surely melt a heart of stone.

All Andsnes’s performances have that deceptive simplicity which is his touchstone. His playing is always sensitive, never sentimental and with a bracing and essential ‘touch of the codfish’ (Grieg) when required. And while one would never want to be without Gilels’ rapt DG performances (see below), praise could hardly be too high for a pianist who so enviably captures the poignant nature of a composer who Tchaikovsky once claimed had ‘a glance like a charming and candid child’. Grieg’s piano, with its distinctive timbre, provides an added touch of nostalgia.”

Gramophone Classical Music Guide