Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg
Orchestra: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Conductor: Eivind Aadland
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Audite
Catalogue: AUDITE92651
Release: 2011
Size: 703 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphonic Dances, Op. 64
01. I. Allegro moderato e marcato
02. II. Allegretto grazioso
03. III. Allegro giocoso
04. IV. Andante – Allegro risoluto
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
05. I. Morning Mood
06. II. The Death of Aase
07. III. Anitra’s Dance
08. IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King
Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55
09. I. Ingrid’s Lament
10. II. Arabian Dance
11. III. Peer Gynt’s Homecoming
12. IV. Solveig’s Song
13. Sorgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak (Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak) (version for orchestra)
Edvard Grieg wanted to give Norway its unique voice within European concert repertoire, and he did that with songs, piano pieces, and particularly with his symphonic works, to be released by Audite in a 5-volume complete recording with Eivind Aadland and the WDR Symphony Orchestra.
This first SACD presents Grieg’s principal collections: his four Symphonic Dances of 1898, where the composer draws on his experiences as a conductor of the leading European orchestras; and his two suites from the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen’s drama Peer Gynt, the story of the “Nordic Faust” which inspired Grieg to compose a sonic panorama of the Norwegian character: from the melancholy song of the abandoned Solveig to the furious chase in the Hall of the Mountain King.
Eivind Aadland’s roots in the Norwegian folk tradition audibly influence his interpretations. He comes from a family where folk music played an important role and as a child he came into intensive contact with Grieg’s music. Aadland was chief conductor and artistic director of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra from 2003 until 2010 and has also worked with many other international orchestras. He initially studied the violin with Yehudi Menuhin and from 1981 until 1989 he was concert master of the Bergen Philharmonic. From 1987 until 1997 he was music director of the European Union Chamber Orchestra. He has subsequently devoted himself fully to his conducting career and studies with Jorma Panula.
The first volume of Audite’s Complete Symphonic Works of Edvard Grieg includes two of his most popular orchestral works, the Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 and No. 2, along with the less famous Symphonic Dances, Op. 64, and the Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak. Mixing familiar and unfamiliar works is a good strategy for making each volume in this series accessible to listeners who might not know much Grieg, but the fine performances by Eivin Aadland and the WDR Sinfonie-Orchester Köln make the recordings even more appealing. The playing is vivid and engaging, and the orchestra sounds especially rich and colorful in the hybrid SACD format, which gives the music depth and realistic dimensions. While the orchestration is uncomplicated in Grieg’s music, the freshness of his sonorities and the clarity of his lines are masterful, and Aadland is careful to preserve the simplicity and directness of the scores, particularly in the Peer Gynt suites. Because of the exceptionally wide dynamic range of the recordings, some attention to volume settings may be necessary.