Edvard Grieg

13 Lyric Pieces

1. Arietta Op. 12 n°1
2. Berceuse Op. 38 n°1
3. Butterfly Op. 43 n°1
4. To Spring Op. 43 n°6
5. Melodie Op. 47 n°3
6. March of the Trolls Op. 54 n°3
7. Scherzo Op. 54 n°5
8. Bell Ringing Op. 54 n°6
9. Vanished Days Op. 7 n°1
10. Brooklet Op. 62 n°4
11. Ballad Op. 65 n°5
12. Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Op. 65 n°6
13. Grandmother's Minuet Op. 68 n°2

Pictures from Life in the Country

Carnival Scene Op. 19 n°3

Piano Sonata in E minor Op. 7

1. Allegro moderato
2. Andante molto cantabile
3. Alla menuetto, ma poco più lento
4. Finale – Molto allegro

Elena Filonova, piano

Recorded in Moscow, June 2007.
Production, Sound Engineer: Lubov Doronina.
Mastering: Pavel Levrenenkov.
Piano: Steinway Model D.

Calliope
CAL 9405

Alain Lompech, Diapason, September 2008

As a child prodigy, Elena Filonova had been directed by Evgeny Mravinsky. Her playing lets the music sing and breathe in a refined, tender, delicate manner. But when Grieg requires it –seldom in these miniatures which are as falsely simple as Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words – she knows how to raise the voice. In the past, the E minor Sonata used to be wonderfully played by Alicia de Larrocha as well as Arthur Rubinstein, who strived to promote it. However, even under the fingers of Leif Ove Andsnes, who tried to give it more height than his elders, the piece never really succeeded in imposing itself. Elena Filonova’s seems to read it for a small circle of friends. Consequently, the piece appears as a continuation of the preceding miniatures. After all, this choice meets the tradition: more charm and climate than structure. But the result is really beautiful!

Jérémie Szpirglas, Le Monde de la musique, November 2008

Except for the Piano Concerto, Grieg’s piano music is not played frequently enough. Yet it contains plenty of small gems and also a surprising kind of anticipation power that Elena Filonova has decided to highlight here.
Some of the Lyrical Pieces, published by Grieg in ten books between 1867 and 1901, are really worth listening and listening again. They deserve to be dissected and analysed in depth to understand how Grieg assimilated not only the declining German romanticism but also some Norwegian idioms. Here, one swings between the romantic miniature - in the tradition of Mendelssohn or Schumann – Ravel’s water works or even a Bartokian use of the piano through its percussive mass and rhythmical ostinatos. Emphasising colours, the softness of touch and aerial phrasings –sometimes at the expense of power – Elena Filonova adds spices and herbs to Grieg’s music, allowing us to enjoy its full taste.