High quality recordings by lesser-known artists on small labels tend to fall between the cracks, unnoticed by the public and usually ignored by critics. However, Nicholas Roth’s freshly minted, thoroughly authoritative performances of Grieg’s complete Lyric Pieces demand serious consideration. He eschews the intimate, lyrically small-scaled style many pianists bring to this repertoire, revealing the music in a new light by way of his powerful projection, wide dynamic range, attention to detail, and aversion to sentimentality.
For example, “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen” often can sound thick and repetitious, yet Roth’s clear, shapely articulation of the dense chords and off-beat accents add an extra dimension to the work’s obvious tunefulness. Sample the “Little Bird” from the Op. 43 group, where the ornaments are dispatched with uncanny precision and subtle tonal gradations. Also notice how Roth plays “March of the Elves” as a bona fide, well-grounded march rather than subjecting it to the hustle and bustle we usually hear. Or listen to Roth’s exquisitely controlled broken octaves, sense of long line, and firmly yet never rigidly-held tempo relationships in “From Days of Youth”.
I wouldn’t give up Antonio Pompa-Baldi’s spontaneity and charm (Centaur), Aldo Ciccolini’s nervous energy and brash underpinnings (Cascavelle), or Einer Steen Nokleberg’s idiomatic narrative flow (Naxos); yet Blue Griffin’s gorgeous reproduction of the pianist’s full-bodied, colorful sonority decidedly tips the scale toward recommending Roth’s Lyric Pieces cycle as a version of reference. [4/7/2009]
