Review: Rikke Sandberg's Complete Nielsen Piano Works

Pianist Rikke Sandberg talks about her Triple Album Carl Nielsen “The Ultimate solo piano collection”

Danish pianist Rikke Sandberg recently released a recording of Carl Nielsen‘s complete piano works, a project that has occupied her for more than two years and reflects a lifelong connection to the composer’s music. Although Nielsen’s symphonies and concertos have secured a place in the international repertoire, his music for solo piano remains relatively unfamiliar to many listeners. Through this new recording, Sandberg hopes to encourage audiences to explore a lesser-known side of one of Denmark’s most important composers.

For Sandberg, Nielsen’s music has been a constant presence since childhood. Raised in Copenhagen in a musical family, she grew up surrounded by classical music. Her father was a clarinettist, and a piano in the family home naturally led her to begin lessons at the age of eight.

“I grew up with a father who was a clarinettist, so of course there was a lot of classical music in my home,” she recalls. “There was also a piano, so I just started to play because it was there.”

Rikke Sandberg © Julia Severinsen

Although she briefly stopped taking lessons as a child, a new teacher rekindled her enthusiasm for music, eventually leading her to the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Along the way, Nielsen’s music became a familiar companion.

Unlike many composers whose works are encountered primarily in concert halls, Nielsen occupies a unique place in Danish culture. His songs are sung in schools and homes throughout the country, making his music familiar even to those who may not actively listen to classical music.

“The thing about Nielsen is that he is the composer of many Danish songs,” Sandberg explains. “I would say that all people in Denmark know his music, whether they know it or not.”

“The Dream on Silent Night ” played by Rikke Sandberg will appear on OUR Recordings release 2026

She remembers a tradition of communal singing in Danish schools, where children would regularly sing together. Nielsen’s songs formed an important part of that tradition, embedding his music in the everyday lives of generations of Danes.

There was another connection as well. One of Sandberg’s piano teachers had recorded Nielsen’s complete piano works in the early 1990s, and her students became thoroughly acquainted with the repertoire.

“I was kind of forced into listening to all of this,” Sandberg says with a smile. “And all of the students had to play some Nielsen at the Academy.”

Despite this familiarity, the idea of making her own complete recording did not emerge until much later. The catalyst was an invitation to perform at a major German festival where Nielsen was the featured composer. Searching for suitable repertoire for her and her piano duo partner led her to an unexpected discovery.

“There actually was no four-hand piece by Nielsen, to my knowledge,” she says. “But then I found that he had made an arrangement himself of his Third Symphony, which was never published.”

The arrangement survived only as a manuscript in the Royal Library. Sandberg and her piano duo partner prepared and performed the work, an experience that inspired her to revisit Nielsen’s piano music with fresh ears. As she explored the repertoire, she discovered that a significant amount of time had passed since anyone had recorded the complete piano works.

Carl Nielsen: 3 Piano Pieces, Op. 59, FS 131 (Rikke Sandberg, piano)

“I looked into when someone had last recorded all of his piano music, and it seemed like it was sixteen or seventeen years ago. I thought maybe it’s about time someone does it again.”

Carl Nielsen

The motivation was not simply to add another recording to the catalogue. Sandberg viewed the project as an opportunity to renew interest in music that deserves a wider audience.

“To renew it and to just keep playing it so it doesn’t become a forgotten language.”

The recording itself was completed across three sessions over the course of a year. Preparation, however, stretched much further back. While Sandberg consulted earlier recordings, including those of her former teacher, she was careful to develop her own interpretation of the works.

“I gathered all the good things from all the great pianists who had already recorded Nielsen’s piano music,” she says. “And then I think I added a little bit of myself on top of that.”

One of the most striking aspects of Nielsen’s piano output is its diversity. The collection encompasses everything from simple lyric pieces to large-scale works requiring considerable technical and interpretive demands.

“I think the piano music goes from very easy listening to very complex music,” Sandberg notes.

That variety is one reason she believes the repertoire deserves greater attention. While listeners may know Nielsen primarily through his orchestral works, the piano music reveals a different side of his creative personality, sometimes intimate, sometimes experimental, and often unexpectedly charming.

Carl Nielsen: The mist is lifting from “The Mother” played by Rikke Sandberg, Queens Hall, Copenhagen

For those approaching the music for the first time, Sandberg recommends beginning with some of the shorter pieces and arrangements included on the recording. Among them is The Mist Is Lifting, one of Nielsen’s most beloved miniatures.

Although the recording project has now been completed, Sandberg’s exploration of Nielsen’s music continues. Alongside performances of the repertoire in upcoming recitals, she is beginning a two-year artistic research project at the Royal Danish Academy of Music devoted to Nielsen’s piano works. The project will bring together performers and scholars who have spent years studying the composer, and through both her research and performances, Sandberg hopes to introduce more listeners to this lesser-known repertoire. While Nielsen’s symphonies and concertos remain his best-known works, her new recording highlights the richness and variety of his piano music and offers audiences an opportunity to discover another side of one of Denmark’s most celebrated composers.