Ballad for Edvard Grieg (CD review)

Includes the Piano Concerto in A minor; Ballade; Lyric Pieces. Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Mariss Jansons, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 0946 3 94399 2 8.

One often thinks of the Piano Concerto in A minor of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) as big and brawny, a common misconception, of course, based on the way the work begins. But it contains a good deal of lyrically poetic material, too, and those are the parts emphasized by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in this reissue of his 2002 recording. The present disc, Ballad for Edvard Grieg, which EMI released several years ago, commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary of the composer's death.

Andsnes provides a wonderful performance of the Piano Concerto, a little less grand and weighty than some other interpretations, but subtle and nuanced, bringing out all the flavor of the Norwegian composer's refinement and grace. The reading may not surpass those of Kovacevich (Philips) or Lupu (Decca or LIM), but it's in the same league and a bit more meditative.

The mood of the Piano Concerto complements the companion works, too, the Ballade in G minor, newly recorded, and the Lyric Pieces, six of Grieg's sixty-six miniature tone poems for piano that Andsnes recorded in the drawing room of the Grieg Museum in 2001, using Grieg's own piano.

Further augmenting the excellent performances is EMI's sound, which in the Piano Concerto is close enough to provide detail and force, yet distant enough to provide a degree of pleasant ambient bloom. If anything, the EMI engineers handle the solo piano pieces even better; they sound quite natural, quite realistic, and quite well defined.

Adapted from a review the author originally published in the $ensible Sound magazine.

JJP