Grieg Gynt

These are the best recordings of both theater works. And these are the first complete and authentic recordings of both works. Still, Neeme Jarvi is a champion on interpretation of Grieg' s works and he has recorded complete works with orchestra of composer. (Actually, this 6-CD set is available and price of this set is very good, unbeatable: about 47$, and Peer Gynt and Sigurd have recorded in this set.)

Sir John Barbirolli was always considered a strong proponent of Grieg. The first disc in this two disc set feaures a marvelous 1969 performance from the Halle Orchestra of music from Grieg's incidental music to the Ibsen play "Peer Gynt", and not just the eight pieces which make up the two popular suites but also some essential additional selections. First and foremost "Solveig's Song" and "Lullaby" both beautifully sung by soprano Sheila Armstrong. Also the addition of the chorus to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" adds even more power to this already exciting moment from the music.

The spirit of adventure, braggadocio and tall stories… for her second album on the Berlin Classics label, the Norwegian violinist and Hardanger fiddler Ragnhild Hemsing has chosen to focus on one of Norway’s best known and most legendary characters: Peer Gynt. Although her solo instruments are not part of the original orchestra formation, she chose various sections of the incidental music to the stage play of Peer Gynt op. 23 and had them arranged for her Hardanger fiddle and the violin with string orchestra accompaniment – thereby creating a link to the traditional story of Peer Gynt in the context of Norwegian folk music.

This boxed set of Grieg’s complete orchestral works is a celebration of the composer’s rich and multi-faceted aesthetic. Grieg was an idealistic humanist whose music and writings underlined a harmony between humans and nature. The sense of nostalgia and ‘postcard lyricism’ often associated with him belies the wild energy also present in his music – its primeval force, pessimistic emotions and tempestuous Romanticism. Thanks to Bjarte Engeset’s carefully researched and widely admired performances, Grieg’s complex musical universe can here be appreciated in full.