Grieg: Butterflies and Illusions
- Artist: Mie Miki
- Number of Discs: 1
- Total time: 70:05
- Label: BIS
- SPAR: DDD
- Availability: In stock
- Item #: 5189522
- List Price: $16.98
- Member Price: $11.98
Review
The question you have to ask yourself when confronted with this disc called Butterflies and Illusions, a collection of accordion arrangements of works by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, isn't how much do you like the concept -- the March of the Trolls played on the accordion is inevitably going to sound like the March of the Trolls played on the accordion -- the question is how well the concept is executed. When the accordion player is Japanese virtuoso Mie Miki, the answer is brilliantly, with panache and aplomb. However you feel about the concept of Grieg on the accordion, you would have to be deaf not to hear the poetry in Miki's "Little Bird" from Lyric Pieces III, the charm in her "Grandmother's Minuet" from Lyric Pieces IX, the atmosphere in her "Spring Dance" from 25 Norwegian Folk-Songs and Dances, and the daredevil recklessness in her "Puck" from Lyric Pieces X. And whether or not you come to prefer the doleful "The Death of Ase" from Peer Gynt on the accordion to the orchestral original, you will have admit that Miki makes the arrangement work better than you could possibly have imagined. BIS' 2007 digital sound is clean enough, but perhaps too recessed. ~ James Leonard, All Music GuideRead About This Recording
If it feels like nothing truly new ever happens in the world of classical music, then this recording is really going to shake things up. What we've got here are Edvard Grieg's lyric pieces as you've never heard them before. Because this disc features the all-too familiar music performed on solo accordion.
The artist is just as unlikely a combination. Mie Miki was born in Tokyo and is now considered the most accomplished accordion player in her native country. Like so many of her contemporaries, she has been performing since childhood and her resume boasts numerous awards from some of the most prestigious competitions for the instrument.
It bears noting that, while the instrumentation may seem a bit strange, the music is very much the same. Miki stays true to the beauty of these Lyric Pieces, book ended by selections from Peer Gynt. Miki, herself, explains in the notes that her interpretations are quite different from performances of these works on piano, as the accordion allows her to enter fully into the persona of each piece.
What results is a delightful disc, filled with short and sweet selections that never even hint at the oom-pah you might ordinarily expect from such an instrument.
-Elaine Sutcliffe
Quotes
As it turns out, the melodic charm and rustic sensibility that characterize Grieg's piano miniatures sound terrific on the instrument. Delightful stuff. -Classics Today
Contents
Peer Gynt, Op. 23: Anitra's Dance; Lyric Pieces I, Op. 12: Norwegian; Waltz; Watchman's Song; Fairy Dance; Album Leaf; National Song; Lyric Pieces II, Op. 38: Folk-song; Waltz; Lyric Pieces III, Op. 43: Butterfly; Solitary Traveller; In My Native Country; Little Bird; Lyric Pieces IV, Op. 47: Halling; Lyric Pieces V, Op. 54: March of the Dwarfs; Lyric Pieces VI, Op. 57: Illusion; Secret; Homesickness; 25 Norwegian Folk-songs and Dances, Op. 17: Springdans; The Swain; Wedding Tune; Lyric Pieces VII, Op. 62: Gratitude; Lyric Pieces VIII, Op. 65: Peasant's Song; Ballad; Lyric Pieces IX, Op. 68: Grandmother's Minuet; At the Cradle; Lyric Pieces X, Op. 71: Once Upon a Time; Puck; Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: The Death of Ase.
Mie Miki, Accordion.
Tracks + Soundclips
| Grieg: Butterflies and Illusions | ||
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1. |
Peer Gynt, incidental music, Op. 23 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 3:07 |
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2. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 0:53 |
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3. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:43 |
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4. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 2:47 |
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5. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 0:38 |
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6. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:26 |
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7. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 1, Op. 12 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:46 |
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8. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 2, Op. 38 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:39 |
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9. |
Lyric Pieces (8) for piano, Book 2, Op. 38 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:06 |
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10. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 3, Op. 43 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:19 |
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11. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 3, Op. 43 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 2:04 |
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12. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 3, Op. 43 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 2:04 |
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13. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 3, Op. 43 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 2:21 |
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14. |
Lyric Pieces (7) for piano, Book 4, Op. 47 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:32 |
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15. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 5, Op. 54 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 3:05 |
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16. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 6, Op. 57 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 3:11 |
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17. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 6, Op. 57 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 5:04 |
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18. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 6, Op. 57 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 4:41 |
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19. |
Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances (25) for piano, Op. 17 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 2:14 |
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20. |
Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances (25) for piano, Op. 17 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 0:51 |
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21. |
Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances (25) for piano, Op. 17 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:47 |
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22. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 7, Op. 62 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 4:03 |
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23. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 8, Op. 65 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:36 |
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24. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 8, Op. 65 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 3:34 |
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25. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 9, Op. 68 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:55 |
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26. |
Lyric Pieces (6) for piano, Book 9, Op. 68 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 3:06 |
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27. |
Lyric Pieces (7) for piano, Book 10, Op. 71 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 4:15 |
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28. |
Lyric Pieces (7) for piano, Book 10, Op. 71 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 1:43 |
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29. |
Peer Gynt Suite for orchestra (or piano or piano, 4 hands) No. 1, Op. 46 by Grieg, Edvard Accordion: Mie Miki Length: 4:35 |
Performances
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
- Recording location: Länna Church, Sweden
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