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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#


Most of Grieg's works involve the piano, either in the form of songs, piano music or chamber music. Many of these works have proved irresistible to orchestrators, to say nothing of the composer himself as orchestrator. On this disc we have music that was written for the piano and well-known as such, but later orchestrated by others, or in one case orchestrated by another hand and then revised by Grieg. Several times while listening to this disc I had the reaction "... this is how Grieg should sound ..." Engeset's firm control over what sounds like a Norwegian orchestra produces Grieg that would be hard to beat. Another winner for Naxos."

--Review by William Kreindler, Musicweb International, September 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

Like most Nordic composers during the late 19th century also Edvard Grieg had most of his education in accordance with the German school, a fact that he regarded as a limitation. The German heaviness was simply not compatible with the Norwegians’ love of “clarity and brevity” and he mentioned “the Italian light, the richness of Russian colour, and not least the clarity and lightness of France.” When his publisher, Peters Edition, in 1890 suggested that Hungarian-Czech composer Hans Sitt orchestrate what is probably the most well-known music on this disc, the Norwegian Dances, Op. 35, Grieg wasn’t too happy about this and preferred a Frenchman to do it – he suggested Lalo – but the following year Peters published Sitt’s orchestration anyway and it was soon established as the standard version.

Almost 45 years ago I bought my first full-length Grieg LP which, besides the ubiquitous Peer Gynt suites, also contained the Norwegian Dances. The Peer Gynt music was even then a known quantity for me but these dances were a revelation and I fell in love with them at first hearing. The freshness of the melodies, the rhythmic abandon and the colourful orchestration at once singled them out. It was with some disappointment that I found out, while reading the liner notes, that a totally unknown arranger was responsible for the orchestral garb, while Grieg’s original was composed for piano four hands. I soon found out, anyway, that Sitt (1850–1922) made the orchestration during Grieg’s lifetime and thus should have been authorized by the composer, but this wasn’t the case. They are still very appealing and in due time I replaced my mono LP with Neeme Järvi’s version with the Gothenburg Symphony, which ever since has been the benchmark recording. Now Bjarte Engeset presents them with Järvi’s other long term orchestra, the RSNO. Whether this connection is of any importance I don’t know but Engeset is a great conductor in his own right – demonstrated not least in a long series of recordings for Naxos. His readings are on the same exalted level with even more rhythmic springiness. He also makes the most of the contrasts in the music, especially Grieg’s way of composing a middle section with the theme at half speed, which he does in both No. 1 and No. 3.

This technique recurs in the second of the three Slåtter (folk-fiddle dance melodies) that constitute the orchestral suite, arranged by Øistein Sommerfeldt (1919–1994). This is late Grieg. Sommerfeldt worked on these orchestrations for many years while studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, so there is definitely more than a French touch here, which I am sure Grieg would have liked. Extremely self-critical Sommerfeldt revised his orchestrations over and over again and finally decided to scrap the whole project of three suites. In 1979 he came up with a short suite and that is the one we hear on this disc in a world première recording. The folk music elements are very obvious and he also uses tambourine to intensify the rhythmic elements.

Rickard Nordraak (1842–1866) was a composer and friend of Grieg’s, who had brave plans to create national art music based on folk elements. It was a great loss when his life was cut short at the age of 24. Today he is best known as composer of the melody to the Norwegian National Anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet¸ which was first performed on 17 May 1864. Grieg “took refuge in music” when he learnt of the demise of his friend and wrote the Funeral March to his memory. Johan Halvorsen wrote the version for symphony orchestra aboard a ship on his way to Grieg’s funeral in Bergen in 1907 and the music was played by a pick-up orchestra at the funeral ceremony. It is built on heavy contrasts: deep sorrow and violent outbreaks of what might be regarded as anger at the loss of a dear friend. The other Halvorsen arrangement is the illustrative The Bridal Procession Passes By. This has always been a popular piece and Grieg recorded it himself twice. It has been orchestrated several times and was included in Peer Gynt at a production in Copenhagen, but Halvorsen’s arrangement was not published until the year after Grieg’s death. It is bright and colourful as are most of Halvorsen’s own compositions.

The most remarkable music on this disc is perhaps Geirr Tveitt’s orchestration of the G minor Ballade. Tveitt was also French-oriented and here he excels in creating a garment that challenges even a Ravel in inventiveness, using harp and celesta to provide softly glittering light. It could be argued that he sometimes is too generous with paint and I believe that Grieg, considering his wish for clarity and transparency, would have complained. Maybe, as Bjarte Engeset says in his highly personal and illuminative liner notes, if Grieg had lived another fifty years and developed further in a modernistic direction, he might have written something like this. As it is Tveitt has created a rich and virtuosic score on a composition that he had often played as a pianist but felt it was really an orchestral work. Tragically and ironically Tveitt believed this score to have been lost in the devastating fire at his home in 1970, when so much of his total oeuvre was destroyed, but Øistein Sommerfeldt found it in the archive of the Norwegian Society of Composers and gave it to the National Library of Norway. Some years later Tveitt’s widow mentioned to Øyvind Nordheim at the Library how sad it was that the manuscript was lost, Nordheim remembered the manuscript and closer study told him that this was Tveitt’s all right. That was in 1989 and two years later it was premièred by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, but this is the first ever recording.

The last piece, Klokkeklang (Ringing Bells) is the only music here that Grieg himself had a finger in. The piano piece, included in the fifth book of Lyric Pieces (1891) was a study in sonorities and harmonies and, as Liv Glaser pointed out in her notes to the collection of Lyric Pieces that I reviewed recently, it actually heralds Debussy’s La cathédrale engloutie, which didn’t appear until almost twenty years later. This is Grieg at his boldest and most modernistic and the shimmering, almost mystical sounds are deeply fascinating. The German conductor had orchestrated some of the pieces from this book in 1895 and Grieg used these orchestrations for his Lyric Suite in 1905. He didn’t include Klokkeklang in the suite but he made far-reaching revisions of Seidl’s score so with some justification one could say that this is as close to ‘real’ Grieg as we can come on this disc. It has been recorded before, maybe more than once, but I only know a Unicorn recording with the LSO and Norwegian conductor Per Dreier.

One expects great things from the RSNO and with the inspirational Bjarte Engeset at the helm in repertoire he loves they produce playing of the highest order. Even though this is not “The Essential Edvard Grieg” he has today – and especially during this commemorative year – a position in the musical world where even the production outside the central canon is of interest. Grieg completists should jump on the opportunity to amend their collections and more generalist listeners should at least have the Norwegian Dances in a reading that in this case is exceptionally stimulating.

--Review by Göran Forsling, Musicweb International, August 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

Here's a knockout collection of several piano pieces by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) arranged for orchestra by other composers. The program begins with a suite entitled Slatter orchestrated by Oistein Sommerfeldt. A world premiere recording, it’s made up of three selections from Grieg's set of seventeen piano pieces by the same name (Op. 72). They're based on Hardanger fiddle tunes from Telemark in southern Norway. The harmonies are extremely colorful and designed to mimic the sympathetic sounds produced by the underlying strings peculiar to that type of folk violin. Hans Sitt's arrangement of four Norwegian dances (Op. 35) comes next. Most everyone has heard them before, but probably not in supercharged performances like these. Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak (Op. 73), orchestrated by Johan Halvorsen, is a powerful piece Grieg wrote as a memorial to a young and promising Norwegian composer, who had just died. Dramatic major-minor shifts are indicative of the overpowering grief Grieg must have felt for someone who was also a close friend.

The world premiere recording of Ballade (Op. 24) as arranged for orchestra by Geirr Tveitt follows. Lasting almost twenty minutes, it’s a theme and variations based on a folk melody from central Norway. It’s subjected to a number of highly chromatic, extremely creative treatments made all the more colorful by Tveitt's brilliant orchestration. A very dramatic work, it could easily qualify as a symphonic poem, but you'll have to provide your own story.

 The disc is filled out with two shorter pieces. The Bridal Procession Passes By is from Pictures from Folk Life (Op. 19, No. 2), and was orchestrated by Johan Halvorsen. Most everyone is familiar with the black and white piano version of this, but here it is in glorious Technicolor. Ringing Bells is from Lyric Pieces (Op. 54, No. 6), and was originally arranged by Anton Seidl. However, just before he died, Edvard revised Seidl’s version. Consequently it’s the most modern sounding Grieg you'll ever hear with lots of superimposed open fifths that point the way towards French Impressionism. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset outdo themselves on this well recorded release. This is a smorgasbord that's not to be missed, particularly at the prices found on the bill of fare for the Naxos restaurant.

--Review by Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found, April 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

All of these are piano works that have been arranged for orchestra. Only one, 'Ringing Bells' (Klokkeklang) from the Op. 54 Lyric Pieces, was done by the composer.

Two of the arrangers come from Grieg's time: Hans Sitt (1850-1922), whose Norwegian Dances arrangement from 1891 is the one most often heard; and Johan Halverson (1864-1935, a conductor and composer who actually married Grieg's niece). who arranged the Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak and the 'Bridal Procession' from Pictures from Folk Life. The others are 20th Century composers: Oistein Sommerfeldt (1919-94). who arranged the three slatter (Norwegian folk dances); and Geirr Tveitt (1908-81), who orchestrated Grieg's extensive Opus 24 Ballade. All of the orchestrations, except Tveitt's Ballade, sound pretty much like Grieg. This work, though, is probably the most enterprising on the program, and it alone goes beyond the level of a character piece.

The performances are very fine, full of joy and charm, with many moments of nostalgia. I certainly had no feeling of listening to "arranged" music, but I suppose you will have to decide if you want Grieg's piano music arranged (by others) for orchestra when the piano originals are perfectly acceptable. That said, the music is delightful.

--Review by Althouse, American Record Guide, July/August 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

With the centenary of his death, we are getting to know much more about Edvard Grieg than the Piano Concerto, the Peer Gynt Suite, the Holberg Suite, or any other perennial potboilers. Here, for instance, is a string of delicate musical pearls from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on Naxos, under the Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset.

All the music featured was originally written for piano, a medium in which Grieg nimbly explored the riches of Norwegian folk music, transforming its nuances into a style that was sympathetic, uncluttered and unpretentious.

Only one of these orchestrations was tinged by his own hand - his touching-up of Anton Seidl s luminescent, almost impressionist realisation of Ringing Bells from the 0p54 Lyric Pieces.

The effect is affectionately captured in this performance, as if Grieg's simplicity of language had been enriched by Ravel-like colouring. Engeset elicits the intrinsic magic of the piece.

Leading up to this final track are a series of jewel-like performances the rawish, rustic idiom of the 0p72 Slåtter orchestrated with Bartók in mind; the pungent Wagnerian Funeral March in memory of Rikard Nordraak, and the most extensive work on the disc, Gierr Tveitt s translucent orchestration of the 0p24 Ballade. A very useful contribution to an unjustifiably low-key centenary.

--Review by The Scotsman, April 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

Not for the casual Grieg fan for whom the Piano Concerto and the Peer Gynt Suites will do, but rather for the hardest of hardcore Grieg fans for whom only everything and more will do, this disc of the Norwegian master's piano music in orchestral transcriptions with Bjarte Engeset leading Royal Scottish National Orchestra is as good as it gets for what it is. Engeset is a strong yet soulful Grieg conductor who, like every great Grieg conductor, brings out the music's bright colors, its warm lyricism, and above all its deep sentimentality. The RSNO is an agile yet powerful orchestra, which, like every great orchestra of international caliber, performs with effortless ensemble and endless virtuosity. And although to the casual Grieg fan the idea of spending time listening to Johan Halvorsen's arrangements of the Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak and The Bridal Procession Passes By might not appeal, the hardest of the hardcore will leap at the opportunity to hear those works along with the more familiar orchestration of the Norwegian Dances by Hans Sitt, the hardly familiar orchestration of Ringing Bells by Grieg and Anton Seidl, the world-premiere recordings of Oistein Sommerfeldt's orchestrations of three of the Slatter, and modernist Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt's orchestration of the composer's longest single-movement piano piece, the Ballade. Typically for RSNO recordings, Naxos' digital sound from Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow is rich, deep, and honest.

--Review by All Music Guide, May 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

During my adolescence in the relatively non-ironic 1950s the music of Grieg was frequently featured in both piano recitals and orchestral concerts. With rare exceptions, that popularity has faded and one reason for that, I suggest, is that Grieg's healthy, non-neurotic, humanistic music is less appealing in these jaded and skeptical times. Grieg was one of the great early nationalists and his music teems with the simple peasant qualities of exceptionally tuneful Norwegian folk melodies. That is a central quality of the music recorded here.

What makes this CD a bit unusual is that it features orchestrations of Grieg's piano music, only one of which was actually carried out by Grieg himself. The rest were made by other Norwegian composers with the exception of the orchestration of the Norwegian Dances, Op. 25, by Hans Sitt, a German. Grieg did revise an earlier orchestration of the brief 'Ringing Bells' from his Lyric Pieces done by conductor Anton Seidl. Easily the most impressive of the lot is the orchestration of the twenty-minute piano 'Ballade in G minor, Op. 24' made by the great Norwegian composer Geir Tveitt. This alone, for me, justifies the purchase of this budget issue. Tveitt was in the generation after Grieg and as a nationalist was Grieg's heir. He expands Grieg's orchestration style by including such things as celesta and harp and making striking uses of string harmonics and ponticello effects. The Ballade, written during a time of great stress in Grieg's life -- death of both parents, struggles with religious doubt, concerns that he and his wife could not have children -- is perhaps the most autobiographical of all his instrumental pieces although it has also been interpreted by some as a paean to the Norwegian homeland.

Music lovers who have never heard these orchestrations will come upon familiar piano works in a new guise. Particularly charming is the orchestration of the second of the Norwegian Dances -- Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso -- with the plangent transfer of its nonchalant melody to the oboe (and later other winds) and with pizzicato lower strings imitating the oompah of the piano bass-line.

The booklet notes, written by the CD's conductor Bjarte Engeset, are a model of their kind. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra play as to the manner born. Recorded sound is transparent and lifelike.

Recommended.

--Review by Scott Morrison, Amazon.com, May 2007
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8.557854 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557854#

Wonderful music this is! The Slatter were originally folk dances and tunes that were transcribed by Grieg for piano. The versions heard here were later orchestrated by Oystein Sommerfeldt. This a world premiere recording of this transcription, very nicely played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Bjarte Engeset. The familiar Norwegian Dances were vividly orchestrated by Hans Sitt. They come off wonderfully here, as do the Bridal Procession and Funeral March for R. Nordraak. But without a doubt, the highlight of this disc is the orchestral transcription of Grieg's Ballade, Op.24. This is a heartfelt emotional work, magnificently orchestrated by Geirr Tveitt: also a world premiere recording. The CD nicely concludes with Bell Ringing, from Grieg's Op.54 Lyric Pieces. This release was awarded Disc of the Month on Classics Today in March 2007. Their review, a "10/10" (their highest) concludes with these words: "...everyone loves this music (or should), and the combination of spontaneous, winning interpretations, terrific playing, great sound, and the rarity of some of the arrangements makes this offering completely irresistible." Another winner from Naxos, at a great price.

--Review by John L., Amazon.com, April 2007

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8.557991 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 3 - Symphony in C minor / Old Norwegian Romance with Variations
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557991#

Melody and form carry the day in the symphony the composer tried to ban

Grieg completed his youthful Symphony in a hurry in 1863/64, but declaring that “it belongs to a bygone Schumann period in my life and never satisfied me,” he marked his manuscript “must never be performed”. Most scholars have agreed but since 1980, when Vitaly Katayev performed and recorded the work, audiences and record companies have been happy to see Grieg's ban reversed.

A "blind tasting" session would identify the twin influences of Schumann's potent, short-breathed chorale-like themes and Mendelssohn's arching, romantic melodies in a classical structure. Parallels to the folksy elements of early DvoÅ™ák and Tchaikovsky (and even of Bruckner) might furnish a guess at the date of composition. Engeset relishes every stylistic discrepancy, every moment where a promising development peters out, or another potentially winning tune or sequence is impetuously squandered. Young Grieg may win nul points for form but the sheer range of melodic material and formal tactics attempted wins the day.

The couplings, reminders of a more mature Grieg's orchestral skills, are still, for most of the world outside Scandinavia, near-rarities. The playwright Bjornson always seemed to bring out the latent Wagnerian in Grieg, and so it is here in the emotional ups and downs of Sigurd the Crusader. The Variations – which Engeset terms the "uncomplicated sister" of Grieg's Op 24 piano Ballade – gets a passionately concerned performance which stresses the unity and drama of the work. The recordings deliver the Malmo orchestra's work clearly and the disc is a convenient and inexpensive introduction to orchestral Grieg and the great charms of his prentice work.

-- Review by Mike Ashman, Gramophone, October 2007
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8.557991 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 3 - Symphony in C minor / Old Norwegian Romance with Variations
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557991#

Disconcertingly, Grieg wrote of his own ‘forbidden’ C minor Symphony - composed when he was just 20/21 - that it ‘must never be performed’. As conductor, Bjarte Engeset, remarks in his fulsome and admirable notes: “… during its 113-year enchanted sleep (commentators) wrote about it disparagingly: it was ‘clumsy’, ‘stiff’, ‘barely out of school’ and not Norwegian enough”. Granted that there are clear associations with the styles of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and the Danish composer Niels Gade, but it is to Engeset’s credit that he and his orchestra and production team recognized the youthful ebullience, out-of-doors freshness and lyrical qualities of the work enough to proceed to record it again. There have been other recordings including those by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra with Ari Rasilainen (Apex), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with Okko Kamo (Bis), Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra/Terje Mikkelsen (Simax), Neeme Järvi DG box, and the very first recording now on Decca Eloquence with Karsten Andersen and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra. That pioneering recording was issued in splendidly expensive isolation on a full price CD circa 1984.

The opening movement is a procession of attractive melodies: stirring marches, heroic material and romantic themes. The lyrical, tender Adagio espressivo second movement and especially the more rustic Intermezzo are quite Schumann-like with a dash of Mendelssohn - influences too apparent, or so it seems, in Grieg’s estimation. Virtuosically fast tempos inform the finale which crackles with joie de vivre. The Malmö players rise magnificently to the work’s challenges, sensitively recognizing the Symphony’s subtle harmonic shifts and nuances of colour.

Grieg’s Old Norwegian Romance with Variations is built on the heroic ballad melody, ‘Sjugur and the Troll-Bride’, stated after a short rather belying dark introduction. Grieg wanted to show how great a potential there was in such a folk-tune. Certainly, through its 18 variations, Grieg skilfully assembles music in an impressive range of moods and styles: marches, minuets, waltzes, dramatic and playful interludes, lyrical and pastoral, tempestuous, tranquil and pompous, all engagingly melodic.

With the Three Orchestral Pieces from ‘Sigurd Jorsalfar’ we reach more familiar ground. The play revolves around two brothers: Sigurd with his calling to the crusades and the gentle home-loving Eystejn. ‘Borghild’s Dream’ begins calmly but grows agitated as her sleep becomes increasingly troubled, the music building a powerful sense of dread. The Malmö players perform, with nice intensity, the much-performed ‘Homage March’ which has a ceremonial and regal-heroic quality.

Grieg’s ‘forbidden’ Symphony in C minor might be derivative, nevertheless it is a real find.

An altogether delightful programme with all the freshness of a Norwegian spring.

--Review by Ian Lace, Musicweb International, September 2007
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8.557991 - GRIEG: Orchestral Music, Vol. 3 - Symphony in C minor / Old Norwegian Romance with Variations
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557991#

Although Grieg expressly forbade the performance of this, his only symphony, it is a nicely-wrought and accessible work. It brings to mind the immensely popular Symphony in C Major that Bizet submitted as his entry for the Prix de Rome. Conductor Engeset provides exhaustive notes about the background for Grieg's supression of the work. A full page in the notes is devoted to the lovely painting on the cover. Performances of this and the two other works are lively and 'native' in spirit.

--Review by Giv Cornfield, Ph.D., July 2007

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Grieg: Orchestra Music Vol.2 Orchestrated Piano Pieces 
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/ Bjarte Engeset (8.557854)

Review by All Music Guide
May 2007

Not for the casual Grieg fan for whom the Piano Concerto and the Peer Gynt Suites will do, but rather for the hardest of hardcore Grieg fans for whom only everything and more will do, this disc of the Norwegian master's piano music in orchestral transcriptions with Bjarte Engeset leading Royal Scottish National Orchestra is as good as it gets for what it is. Engeset is a strong yet soulful Grieg conductor who, like every great Grieg conductor, brings out the music's bright colors, its warm lyricism, and above all its deep sentimentality. The RSNO is an agile yet powerful orchestra, which, like every great orchestra of international caliber, performs with effortless ensemble and endless virtuosity. And although to the casual Grieg fan the idea of spending time listening to Johan Halvorsen's arrangements of the Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak and The Bridal Procession Passes By might not appeal, the hardest of the hardcore will leap at the opportunity to hear those works along with the more familiar orchestration of the Norwegian Dances by Hans Sitt, the hardly familiar orchestration of Ringing Bells by Grieg and Anton Seidl, the world-premiere recordings of Oistein Sommerfeldt's orchestrations of three of the Slatter, and modernist Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt's orchestration of the composer's longest single-movement piano piece, the Ballade. Typically for RSNO recordings, Naxos' digital sound from Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow is rich, deep, and honest.

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Grieg:Orchestra Music Vol.2 Orchestrated Piano Pieces 
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/ Bjarte Engeset (8.557854)

Review by Scott Morrison
Amazon.com, May 2007

During my adolescence in the relatively non-ironic 1950s the music of Grieg was frequently featured in both piano recitals and orchestral concerts. With rare exceptions, that popularity has faded and one reason for that, I suggest, is that Grieg's healthy, non-neurotic, humanistic music is less appealing in these jaded and skeptical times. Grieg was one of the great early nationalists and his music teems with the simple peasant qualities of exceptionally tuneful Norwegian folk melodies. That is a central quality of the music recorded here.

What makes this CD a bit unusual is that it features orchestrations of Grieg's piano music, only one of which was actually carried out by Grieg himself. The rest were made by other Norwegian composers with the exception of the orchestration of the Norwegian Dances, Op. 25, by Hans Sitt, a German. Grieg did revise an earlier orchestration of the brief 'Ringing Bells' from his Lyric Pieces done by conductor Anton Seidl. Easily the most impressive of the lot is the orchestration of the twenty-minute piano 'Ballade in G minor, Op. 24' made by the great Norwegian composer Geir Tveitt. This alone, for me, justifies the purchase of this budget issue. Tveitt was in the generation after Grieg and as a nationalist was Grieg's heir. He expands Grieg's orchestration style by including such things as celesta and harp and making striking uses of string harmonics and ponticello effects. The Ballade, written during a time of great stress in Grieg's life -- death of both parents, struggles with religious doubt, concerns that he and his wife could not have children -- is perhaps the most autobiographical of all his instrumental pieces although it has also been interpreted by some as a paean to the Norwegian homeland.

Music lovers who have never heard these orchestrations will come upon familiar piano works in a new guise. Particularly charming is the orchestration of the second of the Norwegian Dances -- Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso -- with the plangent transfer of its nonchalant melody to the oboe (and later other winds) and with pizzicato lower strings imitating the oompah of the piano bass-line.

The booklet notes, written by the CD's conductor Bjarte Engeset, are a model of their kind. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra play as to the manner born. Recorded sound is transparent and lifelike.

Recommended.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Grieg:Orchestra Music Vol.2 Orchestrated Piano Pieces 
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/ Bjarte Engeset (8.557854)

Review by John L.
Amazon.com, April 2007

Wonderful music this is! The Slatter were originally folk dances and tunes that were transcribed by Grieg for piano. The versions heard here were later orchestrated by Oystein Sommerfeldt. This a world premiere recording of this transcription, very nicely played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Bjarte Engeset. The familiar Norwegian Dances were vividly orchestrated by Hans Sitt. They come off wonderfully here, as do the Bridal Procession and Funeral March for R. Nordraak. But without a doubt, the highlight of this disc is the orchestral transcription of Grieg's Ballade, Op.24. This is a heartfelt emotional work, magnificently orchestrated by Geirr Tveitt: also a world premiere recording. The CD nicely concludes with Bell Ringing, from Grieg's Op.54 Lyric Pieces. This release was awarded Disc of the Month on Classics Today in March 2007. Their review, a "10/10" (their highest) concludes with these words: "...everyone loves this music (or should), and the combination of spontaneous, winning interpretations, terrific playing, great sound, and the rarity of some of the arrangements makes this offering completely irresistible." Another winner from Naxos, at a great price.
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“The Washington Post”  Saturday  November 05, 2005
BSO at Strathmore
Norway has produced some fine composers-- Harald Saeverud, Johan Halvorsen and Christian Sinding, for example -- but it is the great Edvard Grieg's music that says "Norway" to the world. So it was wholly appropriate for guest conductor Bjarte Engeset to lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in an all-Grieg program at Strathmore Music Center on Thursday night to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Norway's independence from Sweden.

Conducting without a baton, Engeset shaped 11 excerpts from Grieg's music to Henrik Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" with his hands and body, communicating as much with a raised eyebrow as others do with grand gestures.
The approach worked splendidly.....Engeset's attention to detail was exquisite: the balance of bassoon and pizzicato cellos during "In the Hall of the Mountain King," the contrast of horns and flute in "Morning Mood," the resonant string warmth in "Ase's Death" and the great gouts of brass in "Stormy Evening at Sea."
Mark J. Estren
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“THE SUN” Baltimore, November 05, 2005
BSO raises Norway´s flag, with a warm garland of Grieg
the (BSO)  playing had considerable warmth and character all evening. The musicians seemed to find conductor Bjarte Engeset a congenial guide through some of Grieg's most popular works.
The first half of the program was taken up by the incidental music the composer wrote for a production of Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. Engeset lavished particular attention on delicate passages, molding "Ase's Death" and "Solveig's Song," for example, with remarkably sensitive shading. "Anitra's Dance" floated by in subtle, shimmering fashion.
Not that the conductor couldn't apply plenty of Peer pressure, too. He drove the famous thundering crescendo of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" very effectively and likewise tapped the theatrical flourishes in the "Stormy Evening at Sea" movement.
At their best, the strings produced a beautifully burnished sound; woodwinds and brass made colorful contributions.
Tim Smith-Sun Music Critic
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Sibelius/Sinding Violin Concertos (Naxos 8.557266)
"Kraggerud's elegant, sweet-toned performance reflects the music's simplicity and in the first ever recording of the lovely Romance, he
embraces its sentimental vein with exquisite taste. The orchestra is prominent in this programme and Engeset draws some majestic playing, judiciously balanced whether in accompaniment or in the tutti sections,captured in a spacious but natural light by the excellent recording."
Nathaniel Vallois, The Strad, January 2005
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"New and Old: Orchestral to Opera":
..."I never thought I should say this, but here is a performance of the underrated "In Autumn" that is superior to Beecham's classic account.... Engeset is a very gifted conductor... this version of the Concerto...must be set alongside those of Clifford Curzon with Oivind Fjeldstad and one or two (only) others of that quality. There is no finer version of the Symphonic Dances on CD than this... This disc should be in every collection, ...The RSNO plays brilliantly and the sound is superb. An astounding bargain."
Robert Matthew-Walker, Concert RSNO Proms, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

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« Schubert ´s 8th Symphony (was) given full value in conductor Bjarte Engeset´s intelligent reading.
Engeset was making his live debut with the orchestra. Conducting without  a baton and carving musical shapes in the air with his hands, he demonstrated an immediate rapport with the orchestra. But he saved the best till last, producing an account of the Beethoven (5th Symphony) which fully justified both its general popularity and its position in the classical pantheon. For such a rhytmically decisive work, Engeset still was able to pull and push tempos with great bravura at the decisive transitions. And in doing so, he both played to the drama which makes the work so popular but also underscored the inevitability of the outcome of the musical argument»
Robert Dawson Scott / Times / 21st June 2004
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«The Observer» 25th May, 2004
Grieg:Piano Concerto/Overture «In Autumn»/ Four Symph.Dances
Håvard Gimse (piano),Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Bjarte Engeset
(Naxos 8.557279)
Also available on SACD and DVD, this blistering performance fulfills the promise shown in the music of their fellow Norwegian Geirr Tveitt by the exiting partnership of pianist Håvard Gimse and conductor Bjarte Engeset. Generating immense excitement from those celebrated opening bars, Gimse proves himself equally capable of delicate lyricism in an exquisite rendition  of the immortal adagio. Coupled with fine playing from the RSNO in the concert Overture «In Autumn» and the four Symphonic Dances Op.64, this is a thrilling addition to the catalogue, suggesting there´s more than merely geographical proximity between the Scottish and Nordic souls.
Anthony Holden

As for the Piano Concerto, I cannot recall a more impressive account than Engeset and Håvard Gimse shared with Tim Handley in May 2003 in Glasgow´s Henry Wood Hall. Put your hat and coat on now and head for your record shop!
Denby Richards, Musical Opinion, 1/07/04
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Sweep away the glitz that usually surrounds the Grieg concerto, and you have this gorgeous performance from the young Norwegian pianist, Havard Gimse. Delicacy and superb technique are used to shape the music with such affection, the piano nicely integrated with the warmth of orchestral playing.
David Denton, Yorkshire Post, July 2004
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CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK
London Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2004
Sibelius:Violin Concerto;Serenade in G minor.Sinding:Violin Concerto no 1:Romance in D (Henning Kraggerud-violin,Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, cond.Bjarte Engeset)(Naxos 8.557266)

Henning Kraggerud, in his early thirties, is one of the brightest young stars in the violin firmament, and this recording of concertos by Sibelius and Sinding attests to his mature artistry. His interpretation of the Sibelius, echoed by Bjarte Engeset´s conducting of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, is a fullbodied romantic one.
As a team, they powerfully act out the musical dramas of the two outer movements, with Kraggerud´s rich and pliable violin timbre as the chief protagonist within a context of bold orchestral colours. This is not the chilly landscape that some performances evoke, but it is one that has consistency of thought,suggesting vastness of expanse and awe-inspiring strength of musical ideas. Kraggerud is as compelling in the mellow lyricism of the slow movement as he is in the taxing virtuosity elsewhere. The finale has a thrilling drive.
The main companion piece here is the Violin Concerto no 1 by Christian Sinding, a fellow countryman of Kragggerud´s who is best known for the once populare piano miniature Rustle of Spring. The concerto starts with a theme hinting that Sinding must have heard the finale of the concerto by Brahms, but it is a good, muscular piece that fully merits resurrection in a performance as fine as this one is.

Geoffrey Norris
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Havard Gimse turns in an exceptionally fine performance of the perennially fresh Grieg Piano Concerto. He launches the first movement with apt bravura, and it's very gratifying to hear him collaborating with conductor Bjarte Engeset in a swift basic tempo that never sags in the movement's later, more lyrical stages. In fact, my only criticism of the performance stems from Gimse's habit of inserting hairpin dynamic adjustments in passages that hardly need them (the opening theme of the finale, for instance). Otherwise, there's more than enough thrilling playing to justify a firm recommendation, including a terrific first-movement cadenza and a wonderful account of the closing pages.
The remainder of the disc only reinforces my enthusiasm. Engeset's enthusiastic romp through the Symphonic Dances (particularly the lengthy last movement) makes this one of the very best renditions available, and he has the Royal Scottish National Orchestra playing with typical élan. The overture In Autumn makes an ideal opener to a program that effectively comprises an entire Grieg concert, one that not only projects the music in well-nigh ideal form but demonstrates that this composer has more substance than his detractors would allow. As usual from this source, the sonics are excellent, and the SACD, a bit too much middle-channel emphasis aside, offers added depth and impact without excessive reverberation or recourse to the rear speakers. A winner!

The beauty of mature romanticism
This Friday the Zagreb Philharmonic was right on target by inviting the Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset.
(Schönberg:"Transfigured Night"  and Brahms:1st Symphony)
In a meticulously prepared performance Engeset, deeply immersed in the luxurious score, did not allow the massive sound to carry him away, but he strictly controlled the dynamic relationships of individual groups of instruments as well as a total sound efffect, delicately synchronized according to coloristic effect of the master's instrumentation.
The thankful audience had a full, spontaneous experience confirmed by loud acclamations.
"Vjesnik" Zagreb, 18 Mar 2002
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«The performance overall was very strong....This is all the work of Bjarte Engeset...definitely a bonus to the orchestra»
Flemish Radio Orchestra /Swerts:Symph. no 2 «Morgenrot»(World Premiere) 7.9.2000
«De Standaard» Brussel
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«Bjarte Engeset was the Czech Philharmonic first choice candidate for its concert at Kissinger Summer 2000.... What the orchestra can and is willing to achieve when a conductor has the grip and can awake its interest, was demonstrated with a full-blooded interpretation  of  Prokofiev´s 5.Symphony. Superbly and with humour and clarity Engeset managed to work out  the many surprises Prokofiev has packed into this music: Strong motive power, unusual colours and complicated rythmic patterns... A remembrance  of the good, old days with Czech Philharmonic»
«Saale-Zeitung» Germany 10. July 2000
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«In Shostakovich's complex score,...and in the Grieg Suites Engeset livened the Nordic charm, buoyancy, sensuality, mystery and many other features  with a deft, Karajan-like easyness and rythmic impact»
«Haló noviny» Prague, Feb 2000
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«A true revelation for the Prague audience was the concert given in the Rudolfinum by the Czech Philharmonic..... an excellently  prepared orchestra conducted by Bjarte Engeset of Norway»
«Právo» Prague
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"Bjarte Engeset documenting his secure perception of these two really international Norwegian symphonies...taking the position as something of an international  "'Johan -Svendsen-conductor'" (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Svendsen: Symphonies/ NAXOS 8.883898)
Kulturspeilet, Oslo
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"The promising young Norwegian conductor, Bjarte Engeset, directs both these captivating symphonies as to the manner born. Phrases are shapely and sensitive, while the Bournemouth band respond with felicitous enthusiasm and plenty of stylish refinement throughout - I fancy they thoroughly enjoyed making the aquaintance of such consistently warm-hearted, beautifully crafted music.The glowing, airy recording emanates from Poole Arts Centre's Wessex Hall. A bargain!" (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Svendsen: Symphonies/  NAXOS 8.883898)
Gramophone Awards Issue, October 1988
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"We were delighted and surprised by a London debut of the young Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset, who drew superb performances  from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; the players were clearly impressed by him in turn, refusing to join Bjarte Engeset in a bow from the enthusiastic audience as the RPO sat applauding him. If there is any justice in this world- and we doubtless all know that there is not so much as there should be - then this very gifted young musician and highly  talented conductor  has a great  future ahead of him. London audiences could surely not have been so impressed by the debut of a young conductor since they first encountered Andrew Litton a decade or so ago. Three movements only from Grieg's first Peer Gynt Suite began the programme, and before the end of "'Morning" we knew that we were in for a treat - for this orchestra can hardly have played this music better under Beecham almost forty years ago." "Norwegian Classics"/London SBC/Royal Phil.Orch.
Robert Matthew-Walker  ("The Grieg Companion" - Concerts, Compact Discs & Books)
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"Our storming - ahead - conductor Bjarte Engeset does an impressing job. His performance had life and elasticity, allready  from the sparkling ouverture. The musicians apparently enjoyed performing under Engesets baton. The orchestra played with  temperament and well rounded sound" (Norwegian National Opera  / Mozart:"The Magic Flute")
VG, Oslo
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"Bjarte Engeset and the Oslo Philharmonic in a colourful and exiting performance" (Mortensen/Tveitt/Svendsen).
Aftenposten, Oslo
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"Engeset's night at the Oslo Philharmonic!"
(Sæverud:Symph.no.7"Psalm"/ Rakhmaninov: Paganini Variations(w/Jablonsky) /Elgar: Enigma:Variations )
Vårt Land, Oslo
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"Engeset's musical interpretations were characterized by a genuine, warm and personal engagement. His vivid and brilliant contact with the orchestra made this concert one really worth remembering" (Oslo Philharmonic, Chopin: Piano Concerto no 2 (w/Pogorelich) / Janacek: Suite "Prihody Lisky Bystrousky"/ Tveitt:Suite no 4  "Bridal Suite" from 100 Folk Tunes from Hardanger")
Vårt Land, Oslo
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"HSO (Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester)  and the Concerthall Choir under distinct and temperamentfull direction by Norwegian  Conductor Bjarte Engeset." (Mozart / Mendelssohn)
HD, Helsingborg
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"The audience screamed like being on a rock-concert! The young Norwegian conductor ignited the Helsinki Philharmonic to an intensity and richness of colours that I have seldom experienced. Not only was the Dutilleux 2 Symphony a remarkable success, but the  marvellous concerts grand finale was an unforgettable performance of  the Ravel: "Daphnis & Cloë, 2. Suite."
Helsingin Sanomaat
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"Under Bjarte Engeset's direction, the orchestra supported  (Henning Kraggerud-violin) extremely well, coming into its own however in an impressive and full-blooded account of excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet"
Herald, Glasgow
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Bjarte Engeset drew superb performances from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra...hardly played (Grieg) better under Beecham almost forty years ago."
"Norwegian Classics" / London SBC / Royal Phil.Orch.
Robert Matthew-Walker
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