Ich liebe dich, Op 41 No 3, is Grieg’s 1884 arrangement of his most famous song, ‘Jeg elsker dig’ (‘I love you’), Op 5 No 3. Grieg published two volumes of transcriptions of his own songs, and he seems to have taken some trouble with them, for they emerge as piano works in their own right, worthy of comparison with the
Lyric Pieces. This particular song is subjected to an elaborate and heroic variation, becoming a dialogue between two lovers rather than a serenade by one.
from notes by Leslie Howard © 2004
