”A true labour of love…these performances are of a moving poetic empathy and musical devotion.”
– Bryce Morrison, Gramophone Magazine, (Editor´s Choice)
”Slåttebrekk triumphantly demonstrates the degree to which he follows the composer in bringing epic symphonic coherence to music that has often been regarded as four-square and lacking in organic unity.”
– Erik Levy, BBC Music Magazine (Instrumental Choice)
”One of the most fascinating explorations of recorded sound I have ever encountered.”
– Shirley Apthorp, Financial Times
”Nothing less than a revolution of a double CD.”
– Olav Egil Aune, Vårt Land
”A huge, dangerous and shattering project for 1900-century music in general.”
– Halfdan Bleken, NRK Radio P2
”An spontaner Frische, an eruptiver Musikalität und, im Kontrast dazu, an reflektiver Kantabilität, ist diese Einspielung nicht zu überbieten.”
– Pizzicato
“What makes the results (the recreations) work is the intent behind them; we move beyond skilled impersonation to something quietly magical, Grieg’s miniatures gaining unexpected, touching profundity.”
– Graham Rickson, Theartsdesk.com (CD of the month)
”This is an absolute gem for authenticity geeks and for those who enjoy an intellectual musical talking-point. That said, everyone will find these interpretations absorbing, once 21st-century ears have acclimatised to the apparent lack of symmetry and order.”
– Charlotte Gardner, Classic FM Magazine
”This is certainly a project that gets you thinking”
– Daily Telegraph
”From this moment on, everyone dealing with Grieg’s piano music will have to relate to Slåttebrekk’s recordings.”
– Arnfinn Bø-Rygg, Stavanger Aftenblad
“The Ballade… breathes a life of its own, filled with warmth and humanity as well as a soul-searching poignancy.
– Dominy Clements, Musicweb International
”Slåttebrekk and Harrison…seek to emulate rather than imitate such vibrant music making.”
– Gramophone Magazine
I know it’s silly to talk about “the best” in a work so often recorded (The Piano Concerto), but if this performance isn’t the finest of them all, it’s so exceptional that it will make you forget about any others.”
– David Hurwitz, Classics Today
“The Piano concerto is jaw-droppingly good.”
– Graham Rickson, Theartsdesk.com
“All lovers of Grieg´s piano music will know Eileen Joyce´s early selection of Lyric Pieces, Gilels´ awareness of “a whole new world of intimate feeling” and, most recently, the recordings of Leif Ove Andsnes. Yet even they hardly equal Slåttebrekk´s expressive intensity and scintillating virtuosity. Here (in the Ballade) Grieg steps out to produce a work of epic grandeur and Slåttebrekk´s way with its flashing northern lights and final desolate leave-taking are unforgettable.”
– Bryce Morrison, Gramophone Magazine
