Are you dying to hear Steve Reich's pashing techniques applied to Liszt's Liebestraum? Martin Lohse's piece does just that, and quite well! Lars Hegaard's Scarlatti in the Mist interweaves fragments of the F minor K. 481 sonata and chaste, rather academic sounding new-music counterpoint.

However, three works stand out that transcend this project's ironic, clever air. Juliana Hodkinson's Befall recasts Chopin's E minor Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 by adding extra beats and gently shifting melody and accompaniment functions between instruments. After a minute and a half, the textures grow more unsettled, long glissandos sneak in like melting wax, and the increasingly nightmarish scenario culminates with several loud piano crashes. Andy Pape conjures a subtle array of instrumental colors and combinations in Bach's E-flat minor Prelude (from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1). He affects shimmering zither-like sonorities by having the pianist silently press the keys and strum the corresponding strings inside the instrument. Lastly, Per Nørgård begins Schubert's Nacht und Tråume like a plainchant, and characterizes the undulating accompaniment with whispering pizzicatos and nearly unnoticeable changes of register. The four members of Ensemble Nordlys deliver fiercely committed, intricately honed performances that will be hard for future contenders to surpass.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com