Search - Grieg, Curzon, Fjeldstad :: Grieg: Peer Gynt Incidental Music /Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Great Grieg...It's Curzon!

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 08/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc of Grieg's Piano Concerto and the incidental music from Peer Gynt is part of Decca/London's "The Classic Sound" series, the predecessor to the "Decca Legends" line. Many of the original "Classic Sound" CDs have been reissued as "Legends" titles, but since this one has not, I expect it will go out of print shortly. Interested parties should act fast, because Clifford Curzon recordings for the label are very much worth purchasing. The pianist was known to have been quite particular about the pieces he recorded, and would only release performances that met his incredibly high standards. Nearly half of his recently issued Original Masters boxed set (see my review) is comprised of brilliant, never before released performances that Curzon originally did not allow to be produced on LP. The fact that this perormance was even authorized should tell you that this Grieg Concerto with Fjeldstad and the LSO must be good. The Peer Gynt, played wonderfully as well, is just icing on the cake. Run to your local Borders and buy this disc before even the in-store copies disappear."

A first rate Peer Gynt in addition to Curzon's great piano p

S. Baird | Baton Rouge, LA United States | 12/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The other reviewer for this very excellent CD would have you believe that it's for Curzon's excellent rendition of the Piano Concerto alone that makes this a bargain, and it was for this work that I was moved to buy this disk. I already owned a copy of this Peer Gynt on another disk, so I was buying this one just for the Concerto.



These two works, the Peer Gynt Incidental Music and the Piano Concerto, are the only stereo recordings featuring conductor Oiven Fjelstad known to me, and they are both marvelous -- especially the music from Peer Gynt. This is one of the most lyrical, beautifully played performances of this music I've ever heard. The fact that in the bargain you are getting one of the best performances of Grieg's beautiful Piano Concerto is just icing on the cake.



Sound quality for recordings of this age is excellent, better, in fact, than on many more contemporary recordings of this work. Since this recording is out of print, I suggest you buy this before copies completely disappear here."

Very Good Performances Make This Worth a Search

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 08/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These early (1958, 1959) stereo recordings of Grieg classics were showcases for then new Decca "full frequnecy stereo sound", or FFSS, most famously used in the Solti Ring produced by John Culshaw who also oversaw this recording of the Grieg Concerto with Curzon. (Interestingly enough, the Norwegian conductor on these two Grieg selections led Flagstad and Svanholm in the very first recording of Gotterdammerung!) Remastered for Cd in 1996, even more of the original tapes top and bass now are now heard. Though a wee bit rough in spots where the volume swells, these remain lovely recordings, both in performance and engineering, and at the current bargain used prices are a great buy!



The 10 selections from the incidental Peer Gynt music comes across as sturdy and bracing, no-nosense leadership and well played by the London Symphony Orchestra. Fjeldstad's leadership here reminds me of the Sibelius recordings of Collins, but with more sweetness and elegance in the slower sections. The strings and woodwinds make a good case for these now 'old' analog recordings, sounding very natural and pleasant. The famous "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was a demonstration piece in its day - and if it has long been surpassed by more modern sound recordings, the original was a finely crafted collaboration between all involved, with spacious soundstage, expertly recorded plucked strings, and a quiet slow crescendo leading up to final kettle drum led pandemonium at the close. Several of the less boisterous more lyrical numbers now seem better than I recalled tham.



If forty minutes of a nice performance of Peer Gynt doesn't sway you into a purchase, then Curzon's playing in the Concerto should. The piece doesn't lack for versions, there's any number of shiny examples out there! But Curzon certainly gets my vote as one of the best. Curzon was a formidable all around talent, not only could he give you a near definitive version of Brahms Paganini Variations that sounds for all the world at times like Richter, but his musicianship never fails him - a more tasteful virtuoso you would be hard pressed to find.



But then I must add some caveats: listening carefully one hears distinct tiny breaks, the briefest of hiatuses; where the music needs and must surge ahead and flow these have a deleterious effect. Curzon's immense skills dominate the proceedings, yet I wonder how much achieving the excellent recorded sound played a part in this lack of totality and complete lyricism. I must add that though the support is good, Fjeldstad cuts in with some searing brass fortes at times, like ripping raw silk, and far too blatty for my taste, though to be fair, this is a common complaint I have with conductors in this music. Yet there's so many moments of superior playing, and very well recorded - a pity, perhaps, we could not hear Curzon live, where many of these problems of continuity and tempo would drop harmlessly away in concert.



In the end there is also the heart-rendering aspect - the Grieg Concerto should have this quality in bushels, and here I don't find it in the quantities I so look forward to whenever I listen to this miraculous Concerto. But do not let this deter you from hearing this fine performance - Curzon ALWAYS handsomely repays careful consideration.



My favorites remain two monaural recordings, an older one by Lipatti, with an unrivalled ability for never loosing his precision as he flows with the ebb and flow of the piece - Grieg & Chopin: Piano Concertos and a fully committed live performance one from 1965 by Michelangeli that has all the heart you'd ever want. The first movement even finds the usually flawless Italian flubbing a chord, but all for the good I say, the more spontaneous and risk taking the better! More and more I absolutely believe the Grieg Concerto, with its nearly non-stop flow needs to be heard live and in concert to do both its supreme lyricism and its emotional demands full justice.Michelangeli Plays Grieg & Debussy .











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