2007 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), and this disc of orchestrated piano pieces is a key addition to the Naxos Grieg discography. Grieg’s musical idiom is firmly rooted in Norwegian folk music, especially in his numerous short pieces. The Slåtter are Norwegian folk dances and tunes, originally played on the peasant violin (Hardanger Fiddle), and notated by Johan Halvorsen. Grieg ingeniously transcribed them for the piano, and Øystein Sommerfeldt later made the orchestral arrangements of the three here recorded. Although an excellent orchestrator himself, Grieg often left his task to others, such as Halvorsen or Sitt. This collection includes the Norwegian Dances, Funeral March, Bridal Procession, and the deeply emotional and personal Ballade (orchestrated by Geirr Tveitt). The orchestral versions of Slåtter and Ballade are world première recordings. The orchestra on this recording is the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. www.classicstoday.comThis disc is wholly delightful. Perhaps the most exciting ´find´ is Geirr Tveitt´s orchestration of the Ballade, which sounds amazingly like--Geirr Tveitt! It´s gorgeous. Tveitt maximizes the color and contrast in each unfolding variation, giving the music much more variety than most pianists manage to project when playing the original version. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Bjarte Engeset plays the work magnificently, clearly relishing its melodic freshness and sonic allure. The other items are more familiar, including the popular Norwegian Dances in Hans Sitt´s vividly idiomatic scoring. Oistein Sommerfeldt´s arrangement of three of the Slåtter pieces also is a very appealing novelty, one apparently new to disc. The program concludes with Bell Ringing, one of Grieg´s most evocative and impressionistic pieces. There´s no need to go on at length 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. [3/30/2007]. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com.Also available NAXOS GRIEG EDITION 8557279 Grieg Piano Concerto, etc.

 

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