Classic CD: Grieg: Piano Concerto/Lyric Pieces

CD cover: Grieg: Piano Concerto/Lyric Pieces.

There are those perfectly content with Leif Ove Andsnes' 1990 account of the Grieg Piano Concerto; a veritable Norwegian trifecta of composer, soloist and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

The latest recording of the work is resolutely new Europe, with a Spanish pianist, Javier Perianes, and a Finn, Sakari Oramo, conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Aaron Copland waspishly quipped that Norwegian composers took 50 years to get over Grieg, sniping that he himself would not be happy if his own work had "engendered sterility in my progeny".

However, to mainstream concertgoers, this concerto is as delightful as it was in 1870 when Liszt dashed it off at sight, heaping praise on its 27-year-old composer but warning him, rather cryptically, "Don't let them intimidate you."

Javier Perianes is not a man to be intimidated by music that some might relegate to minor classic status, as witnessed by his recent recording of the too-often maligned Mendelssohn. The Spaniard injects theatrical flair into Grieg's opening Allegro and Oramo meets him more than halfway, with massive sweeping string sighs.

A lingering second theme that trembles on the brink of sentimentality never sinks into what Debussy so cuttingly described as "pink snow". The Adagio is downright lush but Oramo brings an almost Elgarian gravitas to its muted strings, with the subtle shadings one might expect of a conductor admired by the soloist for his flexibility.

The linear elegance of Perianes' playing recalls the lean lines of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain. When the pianist has the big tune, in massive resonant chords, we prepare ourselves for the exhilarating dance of the Finale.

Rather than pairing this work with a Liszt or Schumann concerto, Perianes opts for 12 solos from the Lyric Pieces, intimate sketches that charted over three decades of Grieg's composing life.

They are exquisite, from a simple Schumannesque Arietta to the bitter-sweet waltz of Remembrances; butterflies shimmer and shiver while trolls do some fever-pitch marching.

The emphasis here, however, is on Grieg's saturated harmonies that make many sound like Tristan in miniature, with a Norwegian twist.

Verdict: A new Grieg recording reinstates the Norwegian as much more than a minor master.