The „Lyric Pieces“ by Edvard Grieg have long formed part of standard repertoire for musical recitals in the home; they were also excellent encores when pianists wished to thank their audience with a poetic gesture. In this recording, Hideyo Harada recalls the important tradition of these „songs without words“ to memory. Out of the total of 66 „Lyric Pieces“ composed by Grieg in the course of his life, Hideyo Harada has selected 22 and arranged them into a drama of subtle shifts and abrupt contrasts, into a tale of timbres, musical forms, and characters. In the groups of pieces as well as in each piece itself, Hideyo Harada maintains the dramatic tension which is the heart of Romantic musical poetry: And thus each piece is self-consistent and logical, clearly formed and yet with its own characteristics and with a quasivisual force of presence.

Hideyo Harada was born in Japan and studied in Tokyo, Stuttgart, Wien and Moscow. She won prizes in numerous competitions, among them the Geneva International Music Competition 1984 and the International Rachmaninov Competition in Moscow 1993. Hideyo Harada is a welcome performer at many festivals and in famous European concert halls. She also tours Japan on a regular basis. Alongside her solo carrier she also performs chamber music. Yet another activity of this versatile pianist are her musical-literary programs, which she stages with performing artist.