Search - E. Grieg :: Grieg: Complete Piano Music / Einar Steen-Nokleberg (14 CD Box Set)

Talking about Grieg's centenary!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 09/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

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This year we commemorate the centenary of Edvard Grieg (Sep/7/1907), the greatest and most representative musician and prolific Norwegian composer, a legitimate national proud.



I guess there must have been numerous recitals and concerts due this motive, that's why I would like to point about this peerless artistic effort, because Eva Knardall consecrated herself to assume and achieve such feat; then came on stage this prestigious and solvent pianist - einar Steen-Nkleberg. To record the whole piano music of this composer, unfairly known as "a miniaturist composer". We should never forget Grieg was foremost a devoted and humble artist who felt the necessity to communicate and express himself respect his own universe, so the simple fact he never thought in big scale projects, doesn't' t mean he was a minor composer.



Just remember the huge commitment that represented for the composers born after Beethoven, to write for the keyboard. And the well known nationalist movement in the middle of the XIX Century. That obstacle didn't avoid for Grieg to leave us the best of his enormous musical breadth.



When this set was released in the LP era, I acquired it and really could appreciate the significance of his genius. His compositions seem like reduced paintings at exhibition. You will have the chance to listen his famous Hooberg Suite that originally was written for solo piano and then transcribed for orchestra) , his ten books of lyric pieces - that written each one as a asset of six pieces, express with genuine eloquence, his lyric mood in superlative level. The six songs transcribed for Piano Op. 52, The six Peasant dances, his Sonata OP. 7, the beloved Ballad Op. 24, his four album leaves Op. 28 as well as his compositions for piano four hands Op. 11, 14, 35, 37 and 64, reaffirm that although he was not a big scale composer, he was in the same artistic sphere of Chopin, a firmly convinced and honest musician.



This centenary should be propitious for you to have this set, filled with little musical gems.

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