Following Somm's recent re-issue of Nielsen's Piano Music with John McCabe, we are very pleased to add another example, in our December new release, of his wonderful art as a pianist. The old, and partly damaged tapes recorded on RCA Gold Seal in 1978, have been lovingly restored by our expert engineers and the resultant sound is absolutely remarkable!

Grieg was the first great composer, in the late 1880s, to travel around Norway collecting folk tunes from the rural population, and these proved to be a genuine source of inspiration to him. The hardanger fiddle player Knut Dale had suggested to Grieg that some of the traditional fiddle tunes should be noted down properly to save them for posterity. By the end of 1902 Grieg had finished his work, named Slåtter, Norwegian Peasant Dances.

The Slåtter and the Stimmungen (Moods) were the two last sets of piano pieces Grieg completed, 2 years before his death. The latter is essentially an extra book of Lyric Pieces in manner, written in 1905. They represent a delightful kaleidoscope of moods and they sum up many aspects of Grieg's pianistic art.

"Hats off to Somm for at long last restoring to the catalogue this superb Nielsen collection featuring the much-missed John McCabe on consummately poised and understanding form. No Nielsen and/or McCabe devotee can afford to overlook this valuable set." - Andrew Achenbach (Classical Ear, 14 May 2015, on SOMMCD01462)