Recording Review #23: Good Grieg

 

Grieg: Holberg Suite; Ballade; Lyric Pieces (selections). Andrey Gugnin, piano. Hyperion CDA68424. 

Assessments of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) usually go something like this, complete with wagging jowls: "[HARUMPH!] Grieg had not that rarefied genius to place him on Mount Olympus with fellow Romantic composers Wagner and Brahms, but in his own small way he was a notable 19th-century composer." 

👎👎👎👎

Poppycock. It's the kind of blinkered thinking that comes from critics and academics for whom radical innovation and large-scale form are everything. In terms of melody, atmosphere, and unmistakable stamp of personality, Grieg was one of the very best. Of course, these things have counted less with "experts" burdened by eccentric priorities. But as David Hurwitz has shrewdly said, "musicology doesn't know what to do with a good tune." Indeed. 

But practically everyone else does, and that's why Grieg's music still gets lots of love and exposure more than a century on from his death. It's also why there is no shortage of recordings to choose from, including those of his solo piano music. Andrey Gugnin, then, faces formidable competition from a host of fine options available to listeners. All the more so because he has picked some of the most popular works to perform: the Holberg Suite, and the Opp. 43 and 62 sets of Lyric Pieces. 

So how does he fare? For the most part very well. Gugnin feels this music in all the right ways. His tempi are perfect, and his dynamics are extremely well executed throughout. Particularly gorgeous are the "Air" from the Holberg Suite (the very soul of that work) and "To Spring" from the Op. 43 miniatures. For some reason, too many pianists ruin the latter with too much speed and/or passion. But Gugnin treats it tenderly, like the flower it is. Exquisite stuff!

I won't lie, the Ballade has never been my favorite work by Grieg. Compared to these other pieces, I think the inspiration flags just a tad here. But Gugnin is every bit up to giving it a sympathetic reading. What helps is that he brings a kaleidoscope of tone colors to the task, which we hear straightaway in the theme, never mind a whole range of little shadings to follow in the variations. 

Here is a release that holds its own in distinguished company: Andsnes, Gilels, Gavrilov, etc. And while Gugnin VEEEEERY occasionally lacks their "pop," it's not enough to keep this release from being a firm buy for the Grieg fan and beyond. 

Highly Recommended