AGATHE BACKER GRØNDAHL (1847–1907)
PIANO WORKS
SARA AIMÉE SMISETH
GP902
‘George Bernard Shaw proclaimed Agathe Backer Grøndahl one of the century’s greatest pianists, yet she remains unknown for most people today. I am thrilled to be able to present this album, showing the world the wide array of Backer Grøndahl’s wonderfully poetic, virtuoso, and colourful piano works.
One of my favourite pieces is I trollhallen (‘In the Hall of the Trolls’), from Backer Grøndahl’s Fairytale Suite, Op. 44, which is one of her many works for piano that is of a much larger format and has an orchestral quality to it. The Fairytale Suite is also the work that made music critic Pauline Hall call Backer Grøndahl “the first Norwegian impressionistic composer.” ’
– Sara Aimée Smiseth
GP902
