Piano Music Vol. 8

Einar Steen-Nøkleberg's performances of Grieg's Lyric Pieces take up Volumes 8-10 of his complete series of Grieg's piano music. Like Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, Grieg's series is an ongoing collection of wonders--delicious little character pieces with hardly a weak one in the lot. For most listeners, a single disc of selections (such as Emil Gilels's on Deutsche Grammophon 449 721-2, or Sviatoslav Richter's on Live Classics LCL 442) may be all the Lyric Pieces they need. But Steen-Nøkleberg's lovely playing gives you the option of owning the entire series for little more than the price of a single full-price disc. --Leslie Gerber