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Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Amanda Hurton
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: June 2002
Total duration: 74 minutes 40 seconds
'A delight from start to finish' (The Observer)
'Inspired re-creations … strongly recommended to connoisseur and newcomer alike' (BBC Music Magazine)
'A charming recital, beautifully played and recorded' (Classic FM Magazine)
'musically enchanting fare … everything is played with unfaltering command … the recording and presentation are immaculate' (Gramophone)
'Lane boasts a fabulous technique … succulent performances' (Fanfare, USA)
'Salon esprit without sentimentality and with a touch of humor and poetry: what more could one ask from this music?' (American Record Guide)
'le pianiste joue franc jeu et rend un bel hommage au compositeur' (Monde de la Musique, France)
'This disc moves into the fruitful territory of Percy Grainger’s piano transcriptions, allowing Piers Lane to indulge in flights of virtuosic fantasy and reveal the emotional breadth of these works' (Music Week)
'beautiful tone and colours … playing of real beauty in the two exquisite Fauré arrangements' (International Record Review)
'a fine selection … an easy listen that often delights the ear' (Pianist)
'heroic stamina by Piers Lane' (The Times)
‘Piers Lane concilie le panache avec une sensibilité très vive’ (Diapason, France)
‘Piers Lane rises to this repertoire’s not-inconsiderable challenges in a judiciously programmed and brilliantly executed recital’ (classicstoday.com)
'It is one of those CDs where surprise comes on surprise. Great fun' (Essex Chronicle)
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No 2: A Slow Dance
[4'33]
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No 3: The Leprechaun's Dance
[2'52]
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No 4: A Reel
[4'08]
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Though he professed not to enjoy concert giving, Grainger was one of the greatest pianists of the earlier 20th century and had an intimate understanding of the capabilities of the piano and how best to write for it. Though his compositional voice was unique he was therefore in many ways part of the great composer/pianist tradition stretching from Liszt to Busoni for whom the concert transcription was an essential part of their art. This CD contains the majority of Grainger's concert transcriptions of music by other composers (his few Bach arrangements will appear on a future Piers Lane recording). They range from the folk inspired Irish Dances of Stanford, full of Grainger's characteristically extrovert piano writing, to the hyperromantic lushness (and incredible pianistic sophistication) of his 'Ramble on Love' based on Richard Strauss's 'Rosenkavalier', all superbly played by Piers Lane who, like Grainger, certainly can't resist a 'good tune'! |