Sibelius: Piano Miniatures / Håvard Gimse

Volume Five in Naxos' complete Sibelius piano music cycle is given over to miniatures, most of which fall within modest technical and registral parameters. Although they were intended for home consumption by amateur pianists, a sensitive and imaginative professional like Håvard Gimse can really make these pieces sound vital and characterful. He does marvelous things. For instance, his angular, push/pull rubato in the Impromptu (Op. 99 No. 4) and varied phrasing of No. 12's dotted rhythms underline the music's superficial resemblance to Schumann. The controlled vehemence he brings to the five Op. 101 pieces admirably downplays their sometimes-mawkish melodic invention. And Gimse is fully attuned to the quirky harmonic twists and turns permeating Op. 103 and 114 (these sets might be described as chips off the blocks that fashioned the composer's Sixth and Seventh Symphonies). In short, collectors who've acquired previous volumes of this excellent series need no further recommendation. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com