A Musical Journey: Norway - From Gaupne To Sogndal
Naxos AudioVisual
DVD
$13.99Oct 26, 2010
NORWAY: From Gaupne to Sogndal
The Places
The tour of Norway takes us from the countryside between Gaupne and Sogndal to Bergen, the birthplace of Edvard Grieg, and its surrounding countryside. Trolls make their presence known, and there are views of traditional farm buildings and stave churches from the open-air museum at Maihaugen.
The Music
The music chosen for this tour of Norway is by Norwegian composers, of whom the best known is Edvard Grieg. His Holberg Suite, Norwegian Dances and Erotikon from his Lyric Pieces are heard on this video. Other composers featured are Christian Sinding, composer of the famous Rustle of Spring, and Johan Svendsen.
Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide) Running time: 52 mins No. of DVDs: 1
Grieg was the first great composer in the late 1880's to travel around Norway collecting folk tunes from the rural population and these proved to be a genuine source of inspiration to him. For John McCabe, as his original note for these recordings makes clear, Grieg was a far more significant figure than popular appreciation would suggest and these recordings came as quite revelatory in the early 1980's to wider audiences outside of the inner circle of specialists in Norweigian music.
The newly formed Zilliacus Quartet (Cecilia Zilliacus, violin I, Julia-Maria Kretz, violin II, Ylvali Zilliacus, viola, and Kati Raitinen, cello) now release an exclusive album with rare string quartets by Edvard Grieg, Amanda Maier, and Julius Röntgen. It's the first time Julius Röntgen's original manuscript of his completed version of Grieg's F major quartet has been recorded, including Röntgen's coda of the final movement. This CD with romantic string quartets of three close friends is a must for all string quartet lovers!
On Haik Kazazyan's first album for Delos, Opera Fantasies, the brilliant American violin virtuoso demonstrated the fiery, passioante, and technically astonishing sides of his artistry. And the same musical virtues are certainly on display here, in his glowing rendition of the three violin sonatas by the Norwegian master Edvard Grieg. In this new album - with dazzling and soulful collaboration from the rising young Russian piano wizard Philipp Kopachevsky - he also applies the sensitivity, subtlety, and interpretive insight needed to bring these three chamber masterpieces to vibrant life. Composed across a period ranging from Grieg's early twenties through middle age, these comparatively unfamiliar pieces not only confirm the composer's winning ways with melodic invention and nationalistic impulse, but also serve as a revealing guide to Grieg's evolution as a composer.
Nacht und Traume - Transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald, Johann
Carus
CD
$19.99Jun 12, 2026
Today, it is a beacon in the world of music: a cappella choir culture at the highest technical and musical level. Clytus Gottwald had a decisive influence on this choir culture with his work, arranging solo songs for polyphonic choirs and thus enabling new, breathtaking sound experiences. In 2025, Gottwald would have turned 100 years old. The Stuttgart Chamber Choir, conducted by Frieder Bernius, has taken this anniversary as an opportunity to honor Gottwald's art with a special program. From Franz Schubert's Nacht und Träume (Night and Dreams) to Die Könige (The Kings) by Peter Cornelius to Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg, the range of songs that Gottwald transformed into a cappella choral sound experiences through his transcriptions is vast. A vocal delight, not only in the anniversary year!
Grieg: Norwegian Dances, Symphonic Dances, Lyric Suite / Ruud, Bergen PO
BIS
SACD
$21.99May 01, 2003
Another BIS first. Not the music this time but the way it is packaged. BIS breaks new ground by offering the public the first surround-sound version of Grieg's justly popular Symphonic Dances. Like all our hybrid SACD releases, this disc is compatible with all CD players but will also provide a surround-sound performance - at no extra cost - to those who are equipped with the relevant hardware. This highly atmospheric music, which so easily removes the listener to the lonely beauty fo the Norwegian fjords, gains especially from the striking realism of a musically balanced surround-sound recording. Further enticement is added by the inclusion of both the Norwegian Dances and the Lyric Suite on this disc. The performances are by Grieg's own orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud. This disc follows the recently released SACD1191 containing, among other works, the famous 'Piano Concerto' in our Grieg-Bergman PO - Ruud cycle.
C. Schumann & Grieg: Piano Concertos / Dariescu, Tianyi Lu, Philharmonia Orchestra
Signum Classics
CD
$10.49$20.99Save 50%Aug 30, 2024
Acclaimed Signum artist Alexandra Dariescu brings a new combination of concertos: Clara Schumann's Concerto in A minor Op. 7 coupled with Grieg's A minor concerto Op. 16. Alexandra Dariescu is a trailblazing pianist who demonstrates fearless curiosity and ground-breaking innovation. As part of her artistic journey, Dariescu has achieved gender equality in her concerto programming for three consecutive seasons, reviving and premiering important works by both male and female composers, championing inclusion and diversity. "I got to know Clara Schumann's Concerto and fell in love with this youthful piece, full of dreams, fiendish virtuosity and a testament to what an innovative performer and composer Clara was, even as a teenager. [Recording these works] It made me realise once again what a responsibility we all have to show both sides of history, to mirror our society in concert programmes and to shine a light on the often-overlooked brilliance of women composers" - Alexandra Dariescu.
Die Geigerin Natalia van der Mersch und die Pianistin Natalia Kovalzon spielen in dieser Aufnahme die drei Sonaten fur Violine und Klavier von Edvard Grieg bieten. Ihre Spielweise, brillant, dynamisch und zugleich der interpretativen Tradition verpflichtet, fuhrt dazu, die Eigenheiten und Starken dieser drei Sonaten neu zu entdecken, die sich in ihrer Sprache und in ihrer Aussagekraft sehr voneinander unterscheiden - mit Momenten lyrischer Abschweifung, aber auch mit Hohepunkten virtuoser Gestaltung, insbesondere in der dritten Sonate, einem charakteristischen Werk aus der vollen Reifezeit des Komponisten. Grieg schreibt: "Die drei Sonaten gehoren zu meinen besten Kompositionen und reprasentieren verschiedene Perioden meiner musikalischen Entwicklung: die erste ist naiv und ideenreich; die zweite ist von nationalem Schwung inspiriert; die dritte ist die mit dem weitesten Horizont."
The Places The legendary Norwegian figure Peer Gynt is widely known through Henrik Ibsen’s play that follows Peer’s unscrupulous adventures, a work that enjoys still further fame through the incidental music written for it by Edvard Grieg. Parts of the Norwegian countryside are identified with some of Peer Gynt’s adventures.
The Music Greig collaborated with the greatest of Norwegian dramatists, Henrik Ibsen, in his music for the play Peer Gynt, from which he drew two orchestral suites. Grieg also worked with Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, providing incidental music for the historical play Sigurd Jorsalfar.
Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Sound format: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 (worldwide) Running time: 54 mins No. of DVDs: 1
Dvorak, Grieg & Brahms: Music for Piano Four Hands / Chevallier, Immerseel
Alpha
CD
$15.99$20.99Save 25%May 19, 2017
The repertory for piano four hands is very large and was very popular, especially in the period between 1780 and 1950, with both professional pianists and amateur players in the home. Jos van Immerseel and Claire Chevallier chose for this recording a selection of ‘dances’ by three masters of the genre, who show a certain affinity with one another and composed the works in question within a short period of time (1878-81). Brahms wrote twenty-one dances, from which the artists have chosen the less well-known books, nos. 11 to 21. He wrote these works while living in Vienna where he got to know Hungarian folk music through the street musicians, which inspired these works. Grieg loved his country, its atmosphere and culture, and this drove his composition. He wrote: “To turn Norwegian nature, Norwegian folk life and Norwegian poetry into music. This goal appeals to me, and I feel strongly that through it I will achieve something.” Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances for piano four hands are largely inspired by the aforementioned dances by Brahms. The three composers were also pianists and knew the keyboard instruments of their time. The benchmark for them was the German style of piano construction. They knew all the possibilities but also the limitations of their instruments. For this recording, the duo chose a Bechstein grand piano of 1870, believing that a masterly restoration of a masterly instrument of the composers’ time offers a better chance of listening to the music as the composers conceived and heard it.
Her curiosity, her thirst for discovery and her audacity have led her to cultivate eclecticism, to follow paths less travelled and to take us to places where we might not have expected her to go. Deeply committed to the process of creating new music, she has also developed a passion for the minimalist movement and a notable penchant for music stripped down to extreme starkness. From her many immersions in often hypnotic sound worlds, Vanessa Wagner has emerged a different person, freer and more willing to reveal herself. And so it is that today she offers us what is probably her most personal recording, a programme she developed over two long years, constructing an imaginary, fantasised narrative based on miniatures by Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Glinka. The pianist becomes the author and narrator of a story of shadows and light.
There's nothing quite like the rich sound and close harmonies that can be produced by a chorus of men's voices, especially the BYU MEN'S CHORUS. The group traces it's roots back to 1901 when twenty-five members began singing together as the Men's Glee. Today they're in high demand-so popular that they can't begin to respond to all the requests they get to perform. Here is the next best way to enjoy this energetic vocal group. Under the direction of Dr. Mack Wilberg, the BYU MEN'S CHORUS has recorded many of it's most popular songs on cassette and compact disc. Featuring many of Wilberg's own arrangements the group performs a variety of music styles with titles ranging from 'Redeemer of Israel' to 'If I Got My Ticket Can I Ride?' to the American folk song 'Cindy.' the collection includes more than a dozen songs representing a variety of styles from traditional sacred music to lively folk songs to moving spirituals from various nations.
The Engegård Quartet, founded in 2006, releases this album as their first on BIS. The group has become one of the most highly regarded ensembles in Norway, and has also gained international acclaim. This release includes three fantastic string quartets: Edvard Grieg’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 27, Jean Sibelius’ String Quartet in D minor, ‘Voices intimae’, Op. 56, and Olav Anton Thommessen’s Felix Remix (String Quartet No. 4; 2014). The Thommesssen piece included on this disc was premiered by Engegard Quartet in 2014. The work is inspired by Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet, Op. 44 No. 2.
Having completed his studies at the Brussels conservatoire and won first prizes at several distinguished competitions for young musicians, Matthieu Idmtal quickly became known as a specialist in the music of Alexander Scriabin. His debut on record was dedicated to a sequence of the Russian composer’s Etudes and Preludes, and it won him golden reviews. His Scriabin album was followed by an equally well-received album of the violin sonatas by Edvard Grieg, in company with his regular violin-recital partner Maya Levy. The natural sequel is this focus on the Norwegian composer’s solo output. Grieg composed seven books of Lyric Pieces across the course of his career: songs without words that amount to a diary of his compositional evolution as well as testament to enduring preoccupations such as the artistic transformation of folksong and the evocation of natural phenomena such as sunlight and the movement of water. Idmtal’s sequence ranges across all seven books, and does not shy away from established classics such as the Arietta and Wedding Day at Troldhaugen. However, he also includes several lesser-known and introspective masterpieces such as the Vanished Days and Homesickness from the Opus 57 set. Even by their side, however, the Piano Sonata Op 7 is an almost forgotten masterpiece. Grieg wrote it at the age of 22, recently graduated from the conservatoire in Leipzig, yet even within the first movement’s opening exposition there are shapes and harmonies that instantly identify the composer’s artistic fingerprint. The sonata reflects the ambitions and character of the young Grieg: high-spirited, virtuosic, impetuous, and permeated with brusque mood swings. Cast in a compressed version of the traditional four-movement form, it encompasses many changes of mood, sometimes very abrupt, as if the composer was overflowing with musical ideas and inspiration.
