Search - Edvard Grieg, Yuri Temirkanov, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Grieg: Peer Gynt; Norwegian Dances; Bridal Procession

Lesser often heard Peer Gynt, marvelously played

darreen | Berkeley, CA | 02/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is not the too-often-heard Peer Gynt suites, not even the Op. 23 as provided by Amazon. Instead it features Mr. Temirakanov's own selection from the original stage score of the Peer Gynt opera, which is hardly heard outside Scandinavia nowadays. Those pieces are also presented in the sense of drama rather than concert music. It actually sounds like an oratorio as a whole.



The playing is as wonderful and touching as Mr. Temirkanov usually presents, with broad breathing and subtlety, exquisiteness. The overall texture might sound a bit dense and too warm to some in terms of Grieg, still it's extremely lyrical and deeply felt.

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Rivaling the very best

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no review of this recording in the archives of The Gramophone, and if [...] is to be trusted, this mid-price issue is its first appearance. Any lover of Peer Gynt should jump at it, because Temirkanov includes more than the usual big-name conductors do while offering better playing and conductors than we get from Scandinavian provincial recordings. To quote from the Classics Today review, "You get all of the music from the two suites, plus such rarely heard numbers as Peer Gynt and the Woman in Green, Peer Gynt at the Statue of Memnon, the Whitsun Hymn (with chorus), and The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter." Temirkanov bows to no one in this thrice-familiar music. He may lack Beecham's geniality and Karajan's grandness -- which some find overblown -- but this is a major conductor's viewpoint carried out by a committed Royal Philharmonic. The sound is fine, and as filler we get orchestrations, not by the composer, of five incidental pieces. All in all, a lovely postponed release."