Grieg: Lyric Pieces (Performed on Grieg's Piano)
Release Date: 2002-03-12
Sales rank: 49746
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 |
Nancarrow: Studies for Player Piano
Release Date: 2000-01-11
Sales rank: 112504
To speak of Conlon Nancarrow's music for player piano shouldn't be mistaken to suggest some still broader range of musical output of which the composer's piano rolls are but a subset. Quite the contrary: Nancarrow's meticulous scores--generally unplayable, at least by most primates--are the body of his life's work. This five-CD set contains dozens upon dozens of his studies, each a fairly self-contained exploration of tempo, pitch, rhythm, counterpoint--and the interaction between pairings of those core musical categories. Certainly, this is "difficult" music, hard on the ears, off-kilter in a manner that both demands attention and may repulse listeners unfamiliar with experimental composition. After initial exposure, this collection is the sort of thing that sits on the shelf for some time, before your imagination breaks its internal code. Once that code is broken, though, the vast life inherent in this "mechanical" music becomes almost intoxicating. On some of the quieter pieces, the piano's tone is similar to that of a harpsichord. On others, the palimpsest of ragtime is undeniable. Yes, some pieces seem overly chaotic, but spend some time with them and you'll see, in your mind's eye, dozens of hands working the keys. --Marc Weidenbaum |
