When asked why songs had come to play such an important role in his oeuvre, Edvard Grieg once said: 'I loved a girl with a wonderful voice and an equally wonderful gift as an interpreter.' The girl in question was Nina Hagerup, later to become Grieg's wife, and with whom he regularly performed many of his songs - as depicted on the painting on the cover of the present boxed set. These songs were thus a labour of love for Grieg - not just his love for Nina, but also for the poems that he chose to set: 'When I compose songs, my principal goal is not to write music but first of all to do justice to the poet's most secret intentions... If this task is performed well, then the music is successful too.' The 172 songs that make up this musical treasure-trove have, with some notable exceptions, received less than their share in terms of international recognition, largely due to the fact that the great majority of them are settings of Norwegian or Danish texts. The present collection includes a 184-page booklet containing all the song texts in the original language with parallel translations into English. The seven discs that make up the collection have previously been released separately, to great acclaim from reviewers around the world: 'Something of a landmark in the Grieg discography... Monica Groop penetrates the very essence of the Grieg spirit with the artlessness that conceals art', wrote International Record Review about one instalment, while a BBC Music Magazine review described another as 'an irresistible new take, thrilling to both the shadows and the bright high-latitude light in this music.' In her own introduction to the project Monica Groop writes: 'I have always felt a special and instinctive affinity for Edvard Grieg and his music ... I admire his gift of being able to write simple, natural music and I have sought to preserve this in performance.' In these endeavours the acclaimed Finnish mezzo-soprano has enjoyed the expert support of three fine pianists: Roger Vignoles, Ilmo Ranta and Love Derwinger.
The Opus13 Quartet was formed in 2014 and takes it's name from the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn, a passionate early work and the first piece they ever played together. Comprising two Norwegians (violinists Sonoko Miriam Welde and Edvard Erdal) and two Swedes (Albin Uusijarvi on viola and Daniel Thorell on cello), Opus13 were keen to record Grieg's sublime Quartet No. 1 alongside Mendelssohn for their very first album. For them, it was important to connect with the raw power of this music and the Norwegian identity embodied in Grieg's music. First Prize winners at the Bordeaux International and Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competitions in 2025, Opus13 received the Borletti-Buitoni Prize in 2026 and were selected as BBC New Generation Artists. Marked by pure and fragile emotions, this programme concludes with a transcription of the famous Solveig's Song, taken from the play Peer Gynt, written in 1867 by Henrik Ibsen and set to music by Edvard Grieg.
A generation before the now iconic Dinu Lipatti died of cancer at the age of 33, a much less remembered Polish pianist, Karol Szreter (1898-1933), died of the same disease at almost the same age. A pupil of Egon Petri, so of the Busoni school, his brief career began in central Europe and by the time of his death he was becoming acknowledged as a major figure in the pianistic world. His first recordings were made acoustically for VOX, where he recorded both as accompanist and soloist, and we have included one example. He was then taken up by the sister labels Parlophon and Odeon and the majority of these recordings are presented here. Of note is the first electrical recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 and three further sonatas, and - reflecting a different side of his art - five brilliant Strauss transcriptions where he reveals his stupendous technique.
Born in Manchester in 1953, Peter Donohoe studied at Chetham's School of Music for seven years, graduated in music from Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham, and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility, and commanding technique, a critic concluding in Musical Opinion that 'I cannot imagine a living pianist capable of improving upon Donohoe's outstanding artistry'. Following his previous volume of Grieg's Lyric Pieces (CHAN 20254), this double-album presents the remaining 39 pieces, alongside the Ballade, Op.24. Born in Bergen in 1843, Grieg is widely regarded as Norway's 'National Composer'. Grieg wrote for the piano throughout his career, but eschewed the German Sonata in favour of miniatures, which he named Lyriske stykker (Lyric pieces). Often influenced by the folk-music of his native Norway, these works were published in 10 volumes. Rather than recording them sequentially, Peter Donohoe has arranged the pieces in an order of his own choosing.
Three works, three worlds-yet united by a shared pursuit: the search for that moment when music transcends itself. César Franck's youthful Trio in F-sharp minor bursts with creative energy, filled with melodies of immediate emotional force and a sense of freedom that opens the space wide. Edvard Grieg's single movement for piano trio unfolds as a circle of light and motion: tentative, glowing, shimmering-a serious game that constantly reinvents itself. And the enigmatic A-major Trio, long attributed to Brahms, speaks in a warm, expansive voice that feels familiar yet stems from an unknown hand. Together, these works form a panorama of chamber music: bold and youthful, poetic and searching, deeply rooted and full of open questions. For the E.T.A. Trio, they become a reflection of the ensemble's own musical identity: three musicians who meet in alertness, curiosity, and a shared devotion to sound-always seeking the moment when their voices merge into a living, breathing dialogue. "SWR Kultur New Talent" is a support program dedicated to outstanding young classical musicians. Over the course of three years, exceptional artistic personalities are promoted through concerts, studio productions, and extensive media presence. Following Janina Ruh, Robert Neumann, and Lionel Martin, the E.T.A. Trio now presents it's debut CD within this series.
Leif Ove Andsnes - The Warner Classics Edition 1990-2010
WARNER CLASSICS
CD
$98.12Apr 12, 2024
Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtil touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. He was a pioneer for being the first home-trained superstar pianist to have emerged from Norway. This box is the story of a 20-year partnership that has yielded a rich seam of recorded treasures, first for Virgin and then for EMI. Running through this cornucopia of 34 albums (36 CDs), we find recurring themes: Grieg (Andsnes even recorded some Lyric Pieces on the composer's own piano at Troldhaugen), Nordic music in general, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Schubert.
The year 2005 marked the bicentennial anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen's birth, whose's writing has been the treasury of the world. Internationally renowned tenor Poul Elming compiled an album of Lieder by great composers inspired Andersen's poetry.
10 months after the highly successful debut CD (KPT 32185 “Prokofiev:Violin Sonatas and Five Melodies”) Armenia’s prodigious young talent Nikolai Madojan visited Denmark again to record Grieg’s sonatas with veteran Elisabeth Westenholz.
The Gramophone wrote on Madojan/Westenholz duo’s “Prokofiev” recording in comparison with the Perlman/Ashkenazy recording, “Nikolai ... has a natural feeling...his is the more thought-provoking...Westenholz refreshingly tender-hearted and imaginative. ..Kontrapunkt’s CD is a good one and will not disappoint those who are attracted by the programme...”
