Grieg’s Lyric Pieces
Ten books of songs without words
All tell a story
Edvard Grieg wrote 66 songs for solo piano that are collectively known as Lyric Pieces. They are in various opus numbers, and were written between 1867 and 1901. A characteristic feature of the Lyric Pieces is that they paint a picture or describe a mood. These miniatures are gems, and I have enjoyed learning a few of them.
Here is Stephen Hough playing excerpts of the Lyric Pieces.
Here is Grieg himself playing Butterfly. The sound quality is so good because he played into a Welte-Mignon reproducing piano. The date of the recording is 1906.
And here is a 1903 phonograph recording of Grieg playing Wedding Day at Troldhaugen.
Catapulting into Classical 