Answering the Everest's roll call.
 First of, I would like to congratulate 2L for the innovation they bring to the discographic scene. It is not only highly efficient engineering for sound but also artistically audacious. I wish this record company the success it is undoubtedly entitled to enjoy over the coming years for producing the best acoustic performances worldwide. Whether you like the performance or not, this record is a must have.


This album is not only a journey to old piano rolls back in time. It is also a technical and artistic performance. Perhaps the most complex feature of this pianola framework consisted of performing an exercise that contemporary musicians are no longer used to. The choice of ghost pianist is difficult, too. Percy Grainger is no easy partner to follow and it should have been difficult for the Norwegian/Indian composer to conduct the Kristiansand Symfoniorkester in the Grieg Piano Concerto. Percy Grainger's phrasing is exceptional, demonstrating uncommon flamboyance to the extent that his romantic mannerisms occasionally are over emphasized.
One of the difficulties resides in the fact that the way of playing this kind of concerto today has completely changed. Soloists nowadays are more worried about the overall performance. I am not sure this particularly was the case for Percy Grainger.


And in fact, this sensation is very much present in the first part of the concerto. The orchestra is quite distant from the virtual pianist. The kind of muscular ecstasy I appreciate with the historical 1974 Decca recording of Radu Lupu with the LSO conducted by André Previn is missing. I have hardly savored a better recording in which soloist and orchestra so perfectly complement each other.


In my opinion, this is clearly the artistic limitation of the piano roll concerto. Lupu’s version is really lively, filled by a solid conviction shared between all protagonists. The perfect control of the orchestra and the full-bodied approach of the loudest parts contribute to highlight the lyric beauty of Lupu’s game during the lighter passages. As a pianist himself, Previn's insightful interpretation never drowns out the soloist but accompanies the piano with great sensitivity. In essence, Previn has reached a previously unknown level of understanding of the Grieg concerto.


But what’s about sharing your conviction with a ghost? It is definitely a more complex task but arguably also a more exciting project. I do not think that Lupu’s touch is more convincing than Grainger's. And even if the Decca recording is so far my favorite version, this last outing could in a way be closer to the composer's Norwegian mood and—it is not very surprising) give more weight to romance and perhaps not enough to drama. Grainger's intense game succeeds in resurrecting the emotion of the past and the sonic atmosphere locked in the 2L recording is quite a miracle.


Grieg's Third Violin Sonata, the one of maturity, is an exquisite musical piece. Every time I listen to the Sonata for Violin and Piano n°3 in C minor, the mix of lyricism and drama affects me. The third violin sonata is in my opinion one of the most interesting piece written by Grieg. There is a kind of natural balance between violin and piano roles that make the music utterly fascinating. I nevertheless think that it can also become an annoying perspective if not played with sufficient conviction. It is not an easy piece at all, especially for the difficulties to synchronize some of its awkward rhythms between a duo. The interaction between musicians is essential. Articulation and breathing are key ingredients. And believe me, this exercise is no easier than for the Concerto because the intimacy of dialogue needs a lot of involvement from both instruments.


The result obtained in the present recording is rather commendable but there is no particular magic in the timing. That’s the difference to my mind between a good interpretation and a stunning one, in how one goes beyond the notated score. Once again it is difficult to get in tune with a ghost, even if the piano roll technique here is quite different from the one used in the Concerto.


Stunning interpretations of this masterpiece are very few. I remember with great emotion the recent Kyung-Wha Chung performance with pianist Robert Kulek. Beyond my own demanding nature, my assessment of this CD must be fair. Rex Lawson signed on to ascend Everest. To reach the top is still an amazing result.