Information
Composer: Edvard Grieg
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 12: 1. Arietta
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 38: 1. Berceuse
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 38: 6. Elegy
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 1. Butterfly
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 2. Solitary traveller
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 3. In my native country
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 4. Little bird
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 5. Erotikon
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 6. To spring
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 47: 1. Valse-impromptu
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 47: 3. Melody
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 47: 7. Elegy
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 54: 3. March of the trolls
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 54: 4. Notturno
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 54: 6. Bell ringing
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 57: 6. Homesickness
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 62: 1. Sylph
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 62: 6. Homeward
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 65: 1. From early years
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 65: 4. Salon
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 65: 6. Wedding day at Troldhaugen
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 68: 2. Grandmother's minuet
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 68: 3. At your feet
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 68: 5. At the cradle
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 71: 2. Summer's eve
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 71: 3. Puck
- Lyric Pieces, Op. 71: 7. Remembrances
Stephen Hough, piano
Date: 2015
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68070
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Review
ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
It’s rare for a pianist to reveal familiar repertoire in fresh and newly minted ways without being willful, eccentric, or unorthodox. Not Stephen Hough. His expertly curated collection of Grieg Lyric Pieces abounds with individual touches, yet the interpretations couldn’t sound more natural or inevitable.
It’s rare for a pianist to reveal familiar repertoire in fresh and newly minted ways without being willful, eccentric, or unorthodox. Not Stephen Hough. His expertly curated collection of Grieg Lyric Pieces abounds with individual touches, yet the interpretations couldn’t sound more natural or inevitable.
The pianist plays the Op. 12 No. 1 Arietta faster than usual, allowing the familiar melody to effortlessly float over the bar lines, while the Berceuse lilts with perceptible yet amazingly subtle rubato. Using almost no pedal, Hough strips off a century of sentiment and frilly phrasing from Butterfly (Op. 43 No. 1), and the music really takes off. Note also the Little bird’s precisely calibrated trilled chords.
Hough’s conversational phrase shaping liberates Erotikon and At the cradle from the languid and foursquare performance traditions that have followed these pieces around for decades. He intensifies the Valse-Impromptu’s tart melodic dissonances by way of a firmly projected right-hand legato against the relatively muted and clipped left-hand accompaniment. Many pianists knock off the March of the Trolls at a breakneck pace, yet Hough’s slower, steadier tempo lends itself to greater precision and character in the quick flourishes.
Much as I love to draw out and slobber over Bell ringing’s open fifths as if the music were wandering in from a New Age seminar, I must admit that Hough’s animated understatement and dry-eyed directness is closer to the composer’s mark. The pianist also subjects Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’s thick rolled chords and heavy textures to a welcome slimming and muscle-toning cure. And for a good example of Hough’s exquisite timing and timbral sensitivity, go to the final selection, Remembrances, and listen to the main theme (the aforementioned Arietta in waltz time) when it reiterates a half-step down. That’s just one of many magical, revelatory moments in a gorgeous release that pianophiles and Grieg fans alike will cherish for keeps.
More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/grieg-lyric-pieces-5
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/May/Grieg_lyric_CDA68070.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/grieg-lyric-pieces-mw0002840464
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/29/grieg-lyric-pieces-cd-review-stephen-hough
http://www.amazon.com/Grieg-Lyric-pieces-Stephen-Hough/dp/B00UART0U4
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Edvard Grieg (15 June 1843, Bergen – 4 September 1907, Bergen) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use and development of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions put the music of Norway in the international spectrum. He is the most celebrated person from the city of Bergen, with numerous statues depicting his image, and many cultural entities named after him
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Grieg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Grieg
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Stephen Hough (born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and has dual nationality. He has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, as recitalist on the major stages, and as chamber musician with top musicians. He is also known for his various dazzling recordings of encore pieces and for championing lesser-known composers His recordings (more than 50) received multiple awards. As a writer, he has a blog at the Telegraph newspaper's website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hough
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hough
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ReplyDeleteA version comparable to Gilel's sublime interpretation!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
A version comparable to Gilel's sublime interpretation!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I wholeheartedly agree with you.
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Do you have this recording? http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Harmonia%2BMundi/HMC902174
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Jose
I don't have it. Looks interesting, though.
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