CLASSICAL REVIEW

Benny Andersson’s album Piano is a big success because its 21 tracks are not predictable, extending way beyond piano versions of Abba’s greatest hits. And he plays really well. Andersson claims not to read music properly, but these performances of songs he has composed over several decades show a mastery of form and harmony, as well as of melody, that suggests he is being way too modest about his technical accomplishments. Andersson loves Bach and the structure of a number of these pieces reflects an understanding of the classical piano repertoire that may begin with JSB but certainly doesn’t end there. As well as a string of hit singles, Abba also produced eight albums. Andersson only chooses six Abba songs, and only one of them a big hit single, Thank You For The Music. These tunes will bring back memories for all of us. Piano is full of new discoveries, like a couple of charming songs from Andersson’s epic musical Kristina från Duvemåla, about Swedish immigration to America in the mid-19th century, on which he worked for several years. There’s also a lot of music from Chess, the musical he did with Tim Rice, which plainly Andersson loves. At 80 minutes, it is not just a warm-hearted album, but a generous one. For an evening of easy listening, glass in hand, it’s actually hard to beat, and will give much pleasure.