Grainger: Piano Music

The solo piano music of Percy Grainger comprises about ninety works, many of which are transcriptions of earlier orchestral or instrumental compositions. Grainger was an inveterate arranger and transcriber of music: of his own compositions, of folk-music from around the world, and of works by masters from Bach and Dowland to Fauré and Richard Strauss.

Despite his apparently loathing the piano, it being 'an affront to destroy a melodiously conceived idea by trying to fit it into the limitations of two hands and a box full of hammers and strings', the nineteen works in this recital capture all the humour, charm and sheer bravado of such 'dish-ups' as Handel in the Strand, Country Gardens and the rest.

CDA66884  72 minutes 23 seconds
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE
DIAPASON D'OR
‘Hamelin's pleasure in this repertoire—challenging to the pianist, delightful to the listener—is manifest in every bar’ (BBC Music Magazine)
‘The wizardry of Grainger's invention is never out of step with Hamelin's fingers—all 20 (or so it seems) of them. Try and keep your lower jaw in place as [he] negotiates Grainger's 'cakewalk smasher ...
‘One of the most brilliant and sensitive young pianists we have on the scene today. His technique is formidable: the more fiendishly difficult a piece is, the more spectacularly he plays it. Yet  ...