Nielsen: Complete Piano Music

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The suite is not only Nielsen's greatest keyboard work but arguably the mightiest ever written in Scandinavia. Martin Roscoe is right inside this music and guides us through its marvels with... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2008, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 2nd Jun 2008
Catalogue No: CDA67591-2
Label: Hyperion
Length: 1 hour 56 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

July 2008

Instrumental Choice

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Nielsen: Symfonisk Suite, Op. 8, (FS19)

Work length16:02

$4.40

$6.00

Martin Roscoe (piano)

I. Intonation: Maestoso

Track length2:10

$1.10

$1.50

II. Quasi allegretto

Track length3:27

$1.10

$1.50

III. Andante

Track length6:26

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Finale: Allegro

Track length3:59

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Drömmen om 'Glade Jul', CNW 85

Work length2:04

$1.10

$1.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Nielsen: Fest-præludium ved aarhundredskiftet

Work length1:28

$1.10

$1.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Nielsen: Piano Music for Young and Old, Op. 53 (FS148)

Work length11:20

$14.30

$19.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Book 1 No 01. Allegretto in C major

Track length0:46

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 02. Allegretto in A minor

Track length0:50

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 03a. Allegro scherzoso in G major

Track length0:45

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 03b. Grazioso in G major

Track length0:55

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 04. Andantino in E minor

Track length0:30

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 05. Allegro giocoso in D major

Track length0:52

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 06. Poco lamentoso in B minor

Track length1:17

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 07. Marziale in A major

Track length0:46

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 08. Cantabile in F sharp minor

Track length0:45

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 09. Allegretto civettuolo in E major

Track length0:43

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 10. Lugubre in C sharp minor

Track length1:07

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 11. Andantino poco tiepido in B major

Track length0:57

$1.10

$1.50

Book 1 No 12. Adagio drammatico in G sharp minor

Track length1:07

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Humoresque-Bagatelles, Op. 11 (FS22)

Work length5:56

$6.60

$9.00

Martin Roscoe (piano)

I. Goddag! Goddag! 'Hello! Hello!': Allegretto

Track length0:48

$1.10

$1.50

II. Snurretoppen 'The Spinning Top': Presto

Track length0:51

$1.10

$1.50

III. En lille langsom Vals 'A Little Slow Waltz': Valse lento

Track length1:25

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Sprællemanden 'The Jumping Jack': Poco allegretto

Track length0:48

$1.10

$1.50

V. Dukke-Marsch 'Puppet March': Allegro moderato

Track length1:11

$1.10

$1.50

VI. Spilleværket 'The Musical Clock': Allegretto scherzando

Track length0:53

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Piano Piece in C major, FS159

Work length0:43

$1.10

$1.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Nielsen: Chaconne, Op. 32 (FS79)

Work length9:34

$1.10

$1.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Nielsen: Piano Music for Young and Old, Op. 53 (FS148)

Work length14:47

$13.20

$18.00

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Book 2 No 13. Andantino carino in F major

Track length1:01

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 14. Capriccioso in D minor

Track length0:55

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 15. Adagio espressivo in B flat major

Track length1:19

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 16. Alla Contadino in G minor

Track length0:48

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 17. Largo con fantasia in E flat major

Track length1:33

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 18. Preludio in C minor

Track length0:49

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 19. 'Alla Bach' in A flat major

Track length0:58

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 20. Con sentimento in F minor

Track length0:54

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 21. Marcia di goffo in D flat major

Track length1:15

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 22. Allegretto pastorale in B flat minor

Track length1:39

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 23. Etude in G flat major. Allegro

Track length0:51

$1.10

$1.50

Book 2 No 24. Molto adagio – Allegretto commodo in E flat minor

Track length2:45

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3 (FS10)

Work length7:17

$5.50

$7.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

I. Folk Tune: Andante

Track length2:25

$1.10

$1.50

II. Humoresque: Allegretto giocoso

Track length1:33

$1.10

$1.50

III. Arabesque: Moderato

Track length1:01

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Mignon: Moderato grazioso

Track length0:48

$1.10

$1.50

V. Elf's Dance: Tempo di valse

Track length1:30

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Den Luciferiske Suite, Op. 45 (FS91)

Work length20:46

$6.60

$9.00

Martin Roscoe (piano)

I. Allegretto un pochettino

Track length3:27

$1.10

$1.50

II. Poco moderato

Track length2:26

$1.10

$1.50

III. Molto adagio e patetico

Track length4:48

$1.10

$1.50

IV. Allegretto innocente

Track length2:00

$1.10

$1.50

V. Allegretto vivo

Track length1:18

$1.10

$1.50

VI. Allegro non troppo ma vigoroso

Track length6:47

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Theme and Variations, Op. 40

Work length15:23

$17.60

$24.00

Martin Roscoe (piano)

Theme. Andante

Track length0:57

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 01. [untitled]

Track length0:43

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 02. Un poco di più

Track length0:42

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 03. Adagio

Track length1:47

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 04. Tempo I

Track length0:49

$1.10

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Variation 05. [untitled]

Track length0:38

$1.10

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Variation 06. Allegro

Track length0:30

$1.10

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Variation 07. Largo

Track length1:09

$1.10

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Variation 08. [untitled]

Track length1:05

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 09. [untitled]

Track length0:45

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 10. [untitled]

Track length1:03

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 11. Capriccioso

Track length0:40

$1.10

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Variation 12. Con moto

Track length0:33

$1.10

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Variation 13. Ostinato

Track length0:49

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 14. [untitled]

Track length0:58

$1.10

$1.50

Variation 15. [untitled]

Track length2:15

$1.10

$1.50

Nielsen: Three Piano Pieces, Op. 59 (FS131)

Work length10:52

$3.30

$4.50

Martin Roscoe (piano)

I. Impromptu: Allegro fluente

Track length3:03

$1.10

$1.50

II. Molto adagio

Track length2:50

$1.10

$1.50

III. Allegro non troppo

Track length4:59

$1.10

$1.50

About
Reviews
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About

Nielsen’s piano works are among the most original and characteristic in the repertoire. There is no mistaking his idiosyncratic musical voice, his sense of joy of discovery and invention, and spirit of imagination and adventure.

Nielsen’s complete piano music encompasses the full diversity and range of his creative output. Though he never aspired to brilliance as a performer, Nielsen’s piano works are nevertheless marked by his intimate knowledge of the instrument and his awareness of the its creative and expressive capabilities. From the symbolist-inspired music of the 1890s to the highly modernist Three Pieces, these works constantly attest to the richness of his imaginative vision.

Reviews

July 2008

The suite is not only Nielsen's greatest keyboard work but arguably the mightiest ever written in Scandinavia. Martin Roscoe is right inside this music and guides us through its marvels with great subtlety and authority.

2010

Nielsen's patchy output for the piano has not received the sustained attention the rest of his music has, yet Hyperion's is not the first complete recording. We've had sets from Arne Skjold Rasmussen, John McCabe and Mina Miller, of her own critical edition; here Roscoe plays David Fanning's 2006 revisiting of the music.
These new recordings are sonically the best yet. Roscoe is famed for his touch and his playing's delicacy and finesse is evident throughout, from the early Five Pieces (1887-90) to the PianoMusic for Young and Old (1930). In the Op 45 Suite Det Luciferiske (1919-20), he emphasises the lighter side – Lucifer was the bringer of Fire and Light after all – while in the Three Pieces (1928) he gets the balance between expression and experimentation just right (as does Leif Ove Andsnes in his selection).
However, there is more to Nielsen in his keyboard works than subtlety: the bigger pieces need power and at times Roscoe seems reticent compared to his rivals. He is on record as finding Det Luciferiske's finale expressively 'terrifying' yet that quality is absent from his playing.
This applies elsewhere, whether the trifling Festival Prelude for the New Century which Miller makes more substantial, or the Humoresk-Bagatelles' electrifying 'The Jumping Jack'. Miller is generally livelier (some may argue over-characterised) but is let down by a somewhat clattery instrument; hers remain an impressive achievement.
Roscoe's need more time to make their full impression as he lets the music make its own mark. While it may be invidious to judge a set on a single work, perhaps it is the treatment of the wonderful Chaconne (1916) that provides the truest benchmark: Roscoe is at his best here, showing a clear grasp of its structure and momentum.

September 2008

Roscoe is famed for his touch and his playings delicacy and finesse is evident throughout.

2011 edition

Martin Roscoe is right inside this music and guides us through its marvels with great subtlety and authority.

1st June 2008

One or two works here – A Dream About Silent Night and the Festival Prelude – would not have been missed had they not been included. Yet the Symphonic Suite, Op 8; the Chaconne, Op 32; the magnificent Theme and Variations, Op 40; the Suite, Op 45; and the late, posthumously published Three Piano Pieces, Op 59, are powerful, poetic, original in both idea and structure, widely varied in mood, impressively organic and as important in their way as any of Nielsen’s remarkable symphonies. Martin Roscoe’s technique withstands everything that the composer throws at it. He obviously believes in every note, as well he might.

7th June 2008

Carl Nielsen's piano music is not the best known aspect of his output, so Martin Roscoe's marvellously played survey provides a valuable insight. There are mature works, such as the Suite and the Theme and Variations, that can stand beside his bigger orchestral pieces, but also a revealing collection of Piano Music for Young and Old - 24 "studies" in all the keys that in their quirkiness never sound less than echt-Nielsen.

Nielsen: Complete Piano Music

2 CDs

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