Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

1146.0. "Greig's Greatest Hits" by HPSCAD::WALL (I see the middle kingdom...) Mon Apr 11 1988 12:28

    Grieg's Greatest Hits
    Phillipe Entremont (piano)                                 (1-3)
    The New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein   (4)
    The Columbia Symphony conducted by Andre Kostelanetz       (10)
    The Phildelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy      (1-3,9,11)
    The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Geroge Szell          (5-8)
    CBS Records Masterworks MLK39435
    
    
    Tracking:   
    	Concerto in A minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 16
    	1) Allegro molto moderato (12:10)
    	2) Adagio (6:00)
    	3) Allegro moderato molto e marcato (9:28)
    
    	4) Norwegian Dance No. 2, Op. 35 (2:34)
    
    	Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
    	5) Morning Mood (4:10)
    	6) Ase's Death  (5:01)
    	7) Anitra's Dance  (2:31)
    	8) In the Hall of the Mountain King (2:16)
    
    	9) "Homage March" from Sigurd Jorsalfar Suite, Op. 56 (8:51)
    
    	10) Ich Liebe Dich (2:45)
    
    	11) "March of the Dwarfs" from Lyric Suite, Op. 54 (3:21)
    	
    Capsule: Sound 8 out of 10
    	     Performances: 10 out of 10 (as far as I'm concerned)
    
    To start with, I didn't know a whole lot about Edvard Grieg before
    I bought this CD.  I knew he had written music for Ibsen's
    "Peer Gynt" and had heard fractions of the score used elsewhere
    from time to time.  Specifically, I heard strains of "Hall of the
    Mountain King" in a Rick Wakeman album, and decided to check some
    more of the stuff out.
    
    I got the CD in a chain (Good Vibrations) for $8.00  It's the fifth in
    CBS 'Some Composer's Best Known if Not Best Music,' a.k.a. Greatest
    Hits series of the late fifties and sixties.  Easily recognized, for
    those who might have the album, by one of those Leroy Nieman covers. 
    
    If you happen to like this music, this strikes me as a pretty good
    pickup.  Sixty minutes of Grieg for eight bucks would be a steal
    even given the age of the recordings, and these are the best I've
    heard out of this series in terms of recording quality.  No background
    noise to speak of unless you turn it up really loud, and even then
    there's only a very slight tape hiss.
                          
    For the purist, the following caveat.  Tracks 10 and 11 are listed
    as being arranged by Arthur Harris, who I think was probably
    concertmaster or something of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the
    time the recordings were made.  Hence, they may not be exactly as
    Grieg penned them.
    
    My favorite tracks are "Homage March" and "March of the Dwarfs"
    
    DFW

    The "Lyric Suites" were originally written for piano.  It was
    probably an orchestral arrangment on the disc.  The other piece
    you mentioned was probably a song arranged for orchestra, but
    this is only a guess.

        My favorite version of Peer Gynt is Duke Ellington's. Anyone
        seen taht one around? (My preference probably comes from having
        heard this version first.)
        
        JimB.