Originally released by BMG Germany in 1993, Gerhard Oppitz's recordings of Edvard Grieg's complete works for solo piano are reissued in this impressive 2004 collection, an important compendium for serious collectors and music libraries, but not necessarily required for casual listeners. For most, this seven-disc box set might seem like an overindulgence. The most significant and attractive works -- the ten volumes of the Lyric Pieces, the Norwegian Folkdances, Op. 66, and the Norwegian Peasant Dances, Op. 72 -- occupy four discs; but the remaining three CDs, which cover the imitative early pieces, are less likely to reward on repeated listening. Immersion in the Lyric Pieces is quite pleasant, for Grieg's sweet melodies and piquant harmonies are easy to appreciate, and Oppitz's interpretations are always poetic and sensitive. However, the Pieces (4), Op. 1; the Poetic Tone-Pictures, Op. 3; the Sonata in E minor, Op. 7; and numerous other short parlor pieces hold less appeal; despite Oppitz's fine playing, these minor works are rather labored and occasionally bombastic rehashes of Chopin, Schumann, and Liszt, much less charming than the later, folk-inspired masterpieces. RCA's sound is clean and resonant.
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