Yes, there existed Norwegian piano music before Edvard Grieg. Primarily known for his numerous songs and romances for male choir, Halfdan Kjerulf (1815-1868) wrote about 110 piano pieces during his brief compositional maturity. Their technical demands, emotional parameters, and harmonic ideas are admittedly modest, but there’s plenty of charm and local color in the composer’s liberal use of Norwegian folk melodies. It’s hard not to be captivated by pianist Einar Steen-Nøkleberg’s gorgeous tone, flexible technique, and storytelling-like phrasing–all qualities that distinguish his excellent complete Grieg cycle on Naxos and bring Kjerulf’s miniatures to uplifting life. Pieces arranged from Norwegian folk dances and traditional tunes particularly benefit from the pianist’s lyric simplicity and hearty accentuation. Add Simax’s thorough, scholarly annotations and luscious engineering, and you’ve got a reference Kjerulf piano edition for years to come.
