This heavily marketed, nicely packed album has everything going for it on first look – A great Norwegian orchestra, coming our right after a critically acclaimed recording of the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra with the same ensemble and conductor. And let’s not forget a superstar classical music soloist for the Piano Concerto.
So did it fill the promise? As for Peer Gynt, the answer is a resounding yes. The Piano Concerto? We’ll get to it later.
There can be endless debates on the “Most complete” version of Grieg’s accidental music for Ibsen’s play. Oddly enough, it’s probably Ole Kristian Ruud, with the same orchestra and on the same label, who offers the most complete version, in a wonderful recording from 2005. This new version does not claim to be a complete version, but gives us almost all of the independent orchestral, accompanied vocal and choral pieces from the piece. You won’t feel you didn’t get the whole music, then. What you do get is a well thought out, atmospheric performance, one that never sounds too rehearsed and always surrounded by a Nordic feel. Listen for example for the Hardanger Fiddle solo in the middle of the first track, and see if you can resist the Norwegian spell.
Right from the start, you can hear the distinct Bergen Philharmonic sound — A focused string section and a great blend of the wonderful wind and brass sections. Other than superb string playing (Sample track 8 for example), there are some glorious solo passages from different soloists from the orchestra.
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One of the highlights of this album is the recording quality itself. Beside the well-balanced orchestral sections, it offers a true-to-life dynamic range, surpassing any other available recording for this piece in that sense. Have a sample of track 8 (“Dovregubbens hall”) from start to finish and have a sense of what a state-of-the-art orchestral and choral recording sounds like.
Vocal soloists may not offer the same “perfection” than, say, Naami Jervi performance on DG, but feel “truer” to the interpretation of the score. The same can be said for the Bergen Philharmonic Choir, who participates in few of the movements. There is some naturalness of singing, and whether deliberate or incidental (pun intended), serves the music extremely well.
There are some good alternative for Grieg’s incidental music for Peer Gynt, and it’s difficult, if not impossible, to recommend a “best recording”. Naami Jarvi offers a thrilling if sometimes bombastic performance with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and a recording that tends to be too resonant at times. He enjoys the company of some first-class soloists, lead by Barbara Booney, and a very impressive orchestral playing indeed. But a tougher competition, as mentioned, comes from the same label and orchestra. Ole Kristian Ruud’s is probably the most complete version out there, and the consistency of the Bergen’s orchestra sound is astonishing, with little change in character from the most recent recording, some 13 years later. But the current production has the edge after all, with a more polished performance, better soloists and recording quality (Ruud’s recording is a bit dryer and more closely miked).
Grieg Piano Concerto
Photo: © 2018 Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
What was supposed to be the main selling point for preferring the newer recording, is the inclusion of the popular Piano Concerto, with star soloist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. As always with the French pianist, the musicality and technical command is omnipresent, but in this case the performance does not outshine other great recordings — Perahia, Kovacevich and Lupu from the “classics”, and more recent surveys from Andsnes and Shelley (The latter offers a particular refreshing performance of this often heard piece). In addition, after such a high-quality recording for the Peer Gynt, it’s a bit disappointing to hear a recording quality which is not in the same caliber — The piano has a harsh edge to it, which the too-close mic seems to emphasise, in addition to covering up some of the orchestral accompaniment.
For those who don’t mind this kind of nit-picking, the concerto will be very much enjoyable, even not as a first choice version. But this album is worth hearing and purchasing for the Peer Gynt alone.
Grieg – Incidental music to ‘Peer Gynt’ (Highlights)(1), Piano Concerto (2)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner – Conductor
Jean-Efflan Bacouzet – Piano (2)
Chandos, CD 5190
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