Vol. 4 in BIS' complete edition of the works of Sibelius is the first of two volumes dedicated to music for the piano. This one features mostly very early pieces and transcriptions. The first two discs, for example, include 33 brief pieces without titles and a catalog of 50 short themes. The remaining three discs include the early but more substantial Sonata in F major plus transcriptions of Finlandia, the Dryad, the Dance-Intermezzo, two movements from the Karelia Suite, four movements from the incidental music from King ...
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Vol. 4 in BIS' complete edition of the works of Sibelius is the first of two volumes dedicated to music for the piano. This one features mostly very early pieces and transcriptions. The first two discs, for example, include 33 brief pieces without titles and a catalog of 50 short themes. The remaining three discs include the early but more substantial Sonata in F major plus transcriptions of Finlandia, the Dryad, the Dance-Intermezzo, two movements from the Karelia Suite, four movements from the incidental music from King Christian II, and two only slightly different transcriptions of Valse triste. Performed with a clear tone, a strong technique, and a firm sense of obligation by Folke Gräsbeck, the music here is represented about as well as imaginable. The better known sonata benefits from Gräsbeck's big, dramatic approach. The lighter salon pieces on the later three discs are as buoyant and airy as one could hope, and while the numerous transcriptions do not really add much to our knowledge of the...
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