Edvard Grieg - Piano Concerto; Piano Sonata; Lyric Pieces (Leif Ove Andsnes; Dmitri Kitayenko)

Information

Composer: Edvard Grieg

CD1:

• (01-03) Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
• (04-07) Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7
• (08-10) Poetic tone pictures, Op. 3, Nos. 4-6
• (11-12) Album leaves, Op. 28: Nos. 1 & 4
• (13) Agitato (1865)

CD2:

• (01-06) 6 Lyric Pieces, Op. 43
• (07-12) 6 Lyric Pieces, Op. 54
• (13-18) 6 Lyric Pieces, Op. 65

Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (01-03)
Dmitri Kitayenko, conductor (01-03)

Date: 2000
Label: Virgin Classics

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Review

There are so many excellent versions of this concerto, and in choosing a reference recording I had a few criteria in mind: 

First, I wanted a disc that featured this concerto alone, without the inevitable Schumann Piano Concerto in tow. Andsnes re-recorded this work for EMI, and very well (if differently) too, but it now comes coupled to a less interesting reading of the Schumann concerto.

Second, I see no reason not to choose a modern recording in modern sound. This isn’t the kind of piece where “golden age” recordings reveal any major advantage over those by today’s more imaginative contemporary artists.

Finally, I hoped to find a performance that brings some fresh ideas to a work whose ubiquity can make it sound hackneyed.

This recordings fulfills all of the above criteria. My colleague Jed Distler, whose views on piano recordings I disagree with only with great trepidation, expressed a slight preference for Andsnes’ later recording with Jansons and Berlin on pianistic grounds, but some of the points he views as less desirable in this first version–such as the sprint forward during the transition to the first movement’s second subject–I tend to regard as positive qualities if only on account of their newness. In any case, you can compare the two versions and judge for yourself.

Either way, Andsnes has proven himself in Grieg’s music, not merely because he’s Norwegian, but because he’s a splendid pianist both here and in the coupled Lyric Pieces. This, his first recording of the Concerto reveals a directness of phrasing and sense of discovery that had me listening to the work anew–it is surely a modern recording of reference.

By the way, if you do want this concerto with the Schumann, go for Fleisher/Szell or Arrau/Dohnanyi, very different but equally excellent conceptions of both works.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Grieg-Piano-Concerto-Sonata-Pieces/dp/B00004LCAV

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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

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Leif Ove Andsnes (born 7 April 1970, Karmøy) is a Norwegian pianist. He studied with Jiří Hlinka at the Bergen Music Conservatory, making his debut in Oslo in 1987. He is known as a champion of the works of Edvard Grieg. Andsnes has made recordings for Virgin, EMI and Sony Classical. He held the position of Artistic Director of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music from 1991 to 2010. Andsnes has won many awards, included the Gramophone Awards six times, and was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2013.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Ove_Andsnes

http://www.andsnes.com/

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