Carl Nielsen Society (DK)
Welcome to 20 Della Gratia, little Marie! With this charming Carl Nielsen vignette, pianist Rikke Sandberg opens her impressive recording of the composer’s complete piano works in a new three-CD boxed set.
The little vignette immediately reveals that this recording is not only concerned with Nielsen’s well-known and highly diverse piano works, but also includes a number of lesser-known miniatures and arrangements that are now being rediscovered and published for the first time.

Among these, the most significant discoveries are the arrangements Carl Nielsen made of his incidental music for piano. The Mist is Lifting (Tågen letter), originally written for flute and harp in the play The Mother (Moderen), now appears in an elegant and practical piano version. From the same source comes an original piano piece entitled Gramophone Waltz (Grammophon-vals), as well as a beautiful piano arrangement of the Prelude to Scene 7 based on the melody Like a Fleet Eager to Travel (Som en rejselysten flåde). One may debate whether all of these arrangements are equally effective on the piano but taken together they provide valuable insight into Nielsen’s work with incidental music.

It would have been even better had the accompanying booklet included information about the origins of these pieces, as well as Welcome to 20 Della Gratia, little Marie! and the eleven newly added souvenir pieces by Nielsen.

The greatest strength of the recording is pianist Rikke Sandberg’s assured interpretation of the music. Drawing on a pianistic experience that ranges from the great classical repertoire to the newest contemporary works, she captures the distinctive character of Carl Nielsen’s music with remarkable insight and performs it with a secure rhythmic sense.

The monumental Chaconne comes vividly to life with richness of tone and structural coherence, while Festive Prelude at the Turn of the Century emerges with clarity and a touch of majesty. The playful Humoresque-Bagatelles and the more intricate works such as Theme with Variations and the Suite, Op. 45, known as Lucifer, are all performed with virtuosity, a beautiful touch, and refined phrasing.

With this expanded edition, Rikke Sandberg takes her place with distinction among the outstanding pianists who have recorded Nielsen’s piano music. Eva Hvidt, 25 June 2026
Carl Nielsen: The Ultimate Solo Piano Collection
Pianist: Rikke Sandberg
CD, OUR Recordings, 2026


Original Danish Text:
Velkommen til 20 Della Gratia, lille Marie! Med denne lille Carl Nielsen-vignet indleder pianisten Rikke Sandberg sin imponerende indspilning af komponistens samlede klaverværker i en helt ny boks med 3 CD’er.
Den lille vignet viser, at indspilningen ikke alene drejer sig om Nielsens meget kendte og ret forskellige klaverværker, men også inddrager en række ukendte små Nielsen-stykker og arrangementer, der nu er ved at blive draget frem af gemmerne og udgivet på tryk.

Af disse findes de største nyheder blandt de arrangementer Carl Nielsen lavede af sin skuespilmusik for klaver. Tågen letter for fløjte og harpe fra skuespillet Moderen fremtræder nu i en fin og anvendelig udgave for klaver. Herfra kommer også et originalt klaverstykke kaldet Grammophon-vals. Desuden en smuk klaverudgave af forspillet til 7. scene over melodien til Som en rejselysten flåde. Man kan diskutere, om alle arrangementerne egner sig lige godt for klaver hver især, men samlet set giver de et godt indblik i flere af Nielsens arbejder med scenemusik. Endnu bedre ville det have været, hvis de øvrige stykker inklusive Velkommen til 20 Della Gratia, lille Marie! og de 11 nytilkomne små souvenirstykker af Nielsen også havde fået nogle ord med om deres oprindelse i CD-udgivelsens ledsagetekst.

Det bedste ved indspilningen er pianisten Rikke Sandbergs sikre fortolkning af musikken. Med sin pianistiske erfaring, der spænder lige fra den store klassiske musik til den helt nye, rammer hun Carl Nielsens karakterfulde musik meget godt, og hun fremfører den med sikker rytmisk fornemmelse. Den store Chaconne kommer klangfuldt og helstøbt til live, Fest-præludium ved Aarhundredskiftet står klart og let majestætisk. De legende Humoreske-Bagateller og de mere indviklede værker som Tema med variationer eller Suite op. 45 kaldet ”Lucifer” spilles alle med virtuositet, flot anslag og fin frasering. Med denne udvidede udgave placerer Rikke Sandberg sig flot og med format i rækken af fine pianistinder, der har indspillet Nielsens klaverværker. Eva Hvidt, 25 Juni, 2026

Carl Nielsen: The ultimate solo piano collection, pianist: Rikke Sandberg, CD, OUR Recordings 2026
https://www.carlnielsen.dk/virtuost-klaverspil-i-sjaelden-udgivelse/