There are stacks and stacks and stacks of short pieces for solo piano published in the last two decades of the 19th and first two decades of the 20th centuries. They were written for the home pianist, the main source of evening musical entertainment before the advent of radio.
The bulk of these pieces, published monthly in music magazines or as sheet music, are as forgotten as their composers. Even those pieces by famous names rarely get heard these days.
Edvard Grieg, for example, wrote solo pieces that just a couple of generations ago were staple piano recital encores. They are beautifully crafted, evocative works.
Earlier this year, Janina Fialkowska gave a recital in Montreal that featured six of Grieg’s “Lyric Pieces,” alongside Franz Schubert’s Op. 142 Impromptus and her specialty: the music of Frédéric Chopin.
Since we so rarely get to hear the Grieg miniatures — much less at the hands of as clear-headed an interpreter as Fialkowska — here they are, courtesy of CBC Music.
Our public broadcaster wants to sell advertising on radio, something it already does on its music videos, so prepare for a commercial break to start each piece. The full concert is available for streaming here (I’m a fan of Fialkowska’s but found her interpretation of the Schubert pieces too angular).
John Terauds