Carl Nielsen: Allegretto Innocente from Suite Op. 45 [DSD Single]

Notes on op. 45 by Bo Foltmann
Suite, Op. 45Carl Nielsen: Allegretto Innocente from Suite Op.45 was composed between 1919 and 1920 and is dedicated to the Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel. Nielsen originally gave the suite the subtitle “The Luciferian” in the sense of “light-bringing,” but since the common interpretation of the term is “satanic,” he removed the designation to avoid misunderstandings. Nevertheless, the subtitles have since gained common currency. The six-movement suite is Nielsen’s most extensive piano work and also one that places extraordinarily high technical demands on the performer. Although all movements are based on major–minor tonality, the tonal framework is frequently broken in favor of a freer or polytonal style. The second movement also shows that Nielsen was not entirely unaffected by Debussy’s impressionistic sound world.

Triple Album Release Date: June 5th

This landmark triple album release presents for the first time the complete solo piano works of Denmark’s national composer, Carl Nielsen, performed by one of the country’s most distinguished and visionary pianists, Rikke Sandberg. She has worked with Nielsen’s music since she began playing the piano as a child, and her teachers form an unbroken lineage back to the pianists for whom Nielsen originally wrote his piano works. On this release you will find Nielsen’s original piano music as well as his own arrangements of his compositions. All of Nielsen’s solo piano music is included.

The Danish press has repeatedly celebrated her artistic integrity. Politiken writes: “She gathers torrents of notes into long, breathing arcs with sharply etched detail and colorful nuance… First and foremost she is an artist; display does not interest her.” The same paper concludes: “Few Danish pianists make as great a difference in our musical life as she does.” Jyllands-Posten praises her “richly nuanced and superbly controlled playing,” while international critics highlight interpretations where “nothing sounds overheated or overplayed… full of fire and sparkling esprit… with such restrained dynamics that one’s breath is taken away.”

At the heart of Sandberg’s artistry stands the great Romantic tradition, notably her acclaimed interpretations of Johannes Brahms, alongside a profound commitment to twentieth-century and contemporary Danish music.

Now, that lifelong dialogue between heritage and renewal culminates in Nielsen’s piano oeuvre: music of rhythmic vitality, bold architecture, folk-like simplicity and daring modernity. Spanning nearly forty years, from intimate miniatures to monumental works, this edition reveals Nielsen in his full creative breadth.

More than a recording, this is a definitive artistic statement, and the ultimate document of Carl Nielsen’s piano world.

Rikke Sandberg, Piano