Grieg: Peer Gynt; Symphonic Dance No. 2; In Autumn; Old Norwegian Folksong with Variations

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Music reviews of Grieg: Peer Gynt; Symphonic Dance No. 2; In Autumn; Old Norwegian Folksong with Variations

Music Review: A CLASS ACT
Rating: 5 Stars

It does not seem to me that Grieg is even remotely equal to the theme of Ibsen's Peer Gynt, which I believe rivals the story of Faust itself in its contemplation of the issues of love, death and redemption. Grieg does not have the `size' for that. What he is able to do is embroider the theme with musical numbers that are by turns picturesque, sentimental and sometimes even deeply felt beyond mere sentiment. It is a kind of music that called up Beecham's special wizardry in particular. The opening wedding march has the familiar Beecham swagger, the trolls in the Hall of the Mountain King are almost worthy of Peter Jackson, the hackneyed Morning breaks like the first morning, and Ase's death strikes a deeper note. Here the composer actually does get somewhere close, in a simplified way, to the complex tenderness and pathos of the scene where Gynt eases the worn-out old woman out of this world. The orchestral tone Beecham obtains near the end, and the exquisite timing of the final chords, are things worth getting this disc for on their own. Ilse Hollweg as Solveig is quite outstanding in the famous Solveig's Song and in the final lullaby.

For its time the recorded quality is quite extraordinarily good. Beecham was particularly adept at obtaining good recordings, by what combination of personal magnetism and outright intimidation I don't know although it's probably easy to guess. There is a fine little selection of makeweights bringing the playing time of the set to an hour and a quarter.

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