Grieg: Melodies Op. 53

Grieg’s beautiful works for string orchestra often owe their origin to poetic inspiration or to mountain vistas. Some were based on piano originals, including the Holberg Suite, a masterpiece of invention. All of these pieces show Grieg’s assimilation of Norwegian folk culture and his lyrical mastery, through which he sought to ‘give expression to the hidden harmonies in our folk melodies’. Volume 4 in this series (8570236) was described as containing ‘performances as fine as any in the catalogue. These are gorgeous, perfectly paced and thrillingly recorded’. (ClassicsToday.com)

To list the various distinctions awarded to the recordings that make up this sumptuous offering is almost impossible; suffice it to say that the entire series received the Grieg Award in 2007, the year of the hundredth anniversary of the death of the composer, as well as a very special commendation by the UK Grieg Society the same year. During 2003-2006, as the individual discs were released, reviewers all over the world were heaping praise over the series – astoundingly enough, as this is repertoire that at least in part belong to some of the most well-represented on disc. But this did not seem to matter to the critics, who described the performance of the Piano Concerto as one that ‘will make you fall in love with the music all over again’ American Record Guide and that of the Holberg Suite ‘so compelling that it simply makes you forget about any other’ Classics Today.com