COMPOSERS: Grieg
LABELS: EMI Studio Plus
WORKS: Peer Gynt; Symphonic Dance Op. 64/2; In Autumn; Old Norwegian Folksong with Variations
PERFORMER: Use Hollweg (soprano)Beecham Choral Society/RPO/Thomas Beecham
CATALOGUE NO: COM 7 64751 2 ADD (1956-93)
Beecham had an exquisite ear for detail, and his Peer Gynt has more fantasy — more subtlety, too — than anyone else's: Ase s Death and Anitra 's Dance are simply magical. So is the Symphonic Dance, and if In Autumn and the variations occasionally seem a litde thin musically, Beecham makes amends with keenness of attack and eloquent phrasing. The orchestra is superb and the transfers (which give us the variations in stereo for the first time), excellent. Robert Cowan
Grieg: Peer Gynt; Symphonic Dance Op. 64/2; In Autumn; Old Norwegian Folksong with Variations
Beecham had an exquisite ear for detail, and his Peer Gynt has more fantasy — more subtlety, too — than anyone else's: Ase s Death and Anitra 's Dance are simply magical. So is the Symphonic Dance, and if In Autumn and the variations occasionally seem a litde thin musically, Beecham makes amends with keenness of attack and eloquent phrasing. The orchestra is superb and the transfers (which give us the variations in stereo for the first time), excellent. Robert Cowan
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:47 pm