New Recording by Acclaimed Pianist Daniel Gortler

Edvard Grieg – Lyric Pieces for Solo Piano

Now Available on Prospero Classical

Edvard Grieg – Lyric Pieces, a new recording by acclaimed Israeli-American pianist Daniel Gortler (PROSP 0082) will see its North American release February 9. Grieg wrote Lyric Pieces as a poetic piano diary: between 1867 and 1901 he composed 66 short character pieces published in 10 books. For his debut album for Prospero Classical, Gortler selected 21 of his favorites, including the virtuosic March of the Dwarfs, Butterfly, Brooklet and Puck, which are among Grieg’s best-known works, as well as Arietta, the first piece in Grieg’s set. The dreamy Berceuse, At the Cradle and Summer’s Eve and the melancholy Solitary Traveler, Melody and Ballade are also included. He rounds out the collection with Vanished Days, Norwegian Dance, At your feet, Gade, Album Leaf, Little Bird, Peasant’s Song, Notturno, Peace of the Woods and To Spring. For the complete listing, [click here].

Early reviews of the album are outstanding. Fanfare gives Lyric Pieces 5 stars, saying “ The performance steals the heart. Gortler consistently gets it right. The disc runs on in one gorgeous stream of melody that only Grieg could have written. Gortler’s care of all aspects results in Grieg’s masterpiece emerging as a perfect sound sculpture, Gortler’s account is magnificent.”

Similarly, Pizzicato praises Gortler’s performances noting, “He plays the quieter very poetically, with subtle tonal gradations and with beautiful phrasing. In the more virtuosic compositions, he surprises with a very personal rhythm and sometimes quite distinctive accentuations that give his interpretation a great freshness.”

Daniel Gortler has delighted audiences and critics alike with his performances around the world, receiving praise for his technical mastery and musical ingenuity. He has performed as soloist with the London Philharmonic, Berlin Radio Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NDR Symphony, North-West German Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and every orchestra in Israel, including the Israel Philharmonic. In the United States, he has been featured as soloist with the San Francisco, New World, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras and held recitals in New York at Symphony Space, the Jewish Museum, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 92nd Street Y, and in Cleveland at the Museum of Art, to name a few. He has collaborated with conductors Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Franz Welzer-Most, and Michael Tilson Thomas. An avid chamber musician, Gortler has worked with artists including Bo Skovhus, Nikolaj Znaider, David Garrett, Steven Isserlis, Pinchas Zukerman and David Adam Moore. In 2023 Gortler performed with the Jupiter, Catalyst, and Shanghai Quartets. Upcoming performances include the Schubertiad, a Festival in Tel Aviv in February and a recital in Berlin at the Salon Christophori in March.

Earlier releases by Gortler include the complete Mendelssohn: Songs without words, which ClassicsToday hailed as “beautifully performed,” noting “He commands a warm, singing sonority, tasteful musicality, plus finger work that is consistently fluent and well-defined.” Of his 2-disc Schumann set which includes his Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 and the full Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, (including the 5 posthumous Etudes), Gortler is praised by International Record Review for his “high level of refinement and musical personality” and “color and imagination” in abundance. His discography also includes a collection of Schubert songs with soprano Sharon Rostorf- Zamir.

More information on Daniel Gortler may be found at:

https://danielgortler.com

If you would like to receive a physical copy of Lyric Pieces for review or airplay, or would like to arrange an interview with Daniel Gortler, please contact Genevieve Spielberg at

908-608-1325 or genevieve@gsiartists.com

Recordings by Daniel Gortler: