Much of Edvard Grieg's popularity rests on the fame of the piano concerto and the Peer Gynt Suites. This unfairly excludes a large portion of his rather extensive output, particularly his sonatas. This album by sisters
Karin and
Doris Adam features Grieg's three violin sonatas. The sonatas contain many of the stylistic elements that listeners think of when contemplating Grieg -- a heavy dose of Norwegian folk elements and continuous drama (some may even say melodrama). The
Adam sisters both have superior technique on their respective instruments and from a technical standpoint, their performance cannot be faulted. However, the album loses its musical appeal and interest with each passing track. The drama on which Grieg's music so heavily relies too much on sentimentality. Tempo choices are quite conservative despite indications in the score for rather brisk paces like Allegro animato and Allegro molto vivace. By the third sonata, the music comes to a virtual standstill in the middle movement (Allegretto espressivo) and the final movement lacks sufficient drive or passion to bring back the listener's attention. Though technically sufficient, this album is definitely not musically worthwhile, especially considering the high price of the import label. Listeners could do much better in all respects with the Naxos recording by
Helge Kjekshus and
Henning Kraggerud.