{"title":"Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"schumann-symphonies-nos-1-and-2-7318590003619","title":"Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1 And 2","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711243514090,"sku":"7318590003619","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265623.jpg?v=1778298863"},{"product_id":"nordheim-the-tempest-suite-from-the-ballet-7090020182728","title":"Nordheim: The Tempest - Suite from the Ballet \/ Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Bergen Philharmonic and Chief Conductor Edward Gardner present Arne Nordheim's \"The Tempest\" (Suite from the Ballet). Arne Nordheim was Norway’s most significant and respected composer until his death in 2010, and one of the few figures in contem­porary western music who proved himself able to move beyond traditional harmonic re­lationships while maintaining a distinct ability to communicate widely through his striking, physical music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LAWO Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012508176618,"sku":"7090020182728","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4169786-2944981_0fa9ca9b-af55-4e43-9618-51f58a0c0d34.jpg?v=1778238573"},{"product_id":"mozart-piano-concertos-nos-21-9-rondo-for-piano-orche","title":"Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 \u0026 21 \/ Lazić, Vriend, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"Second of three instalments in this�Lazic-de Vriend-Bergen Philharmonic unique project. Famous Concertos nos. 21 \u0026amp; 9 are alongside the Rondo K. 382. Once more all candenza and leads-in are inventive creations by�Lazic. Fanfare (USA):�I find Lazic and de Vriend's K 449 quite exhilarating and rate it an unmitigated success. Classica (FR):�In total: a record of quite astonishing eloquence. Luister (NL): Recommended.","brand":"Challenge Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012536946922,"sku":"608917294620","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4371510-3238051.jpg?v=1778212430"},{"product_id":"piano-concertos-nos-20-12-rondo-for-piano-in-d-major-k","title":"Piano Concertos Nos. 20 \u0026 12; Rondo for Piano in D Major, K.","description":"Mozart Piano Concertos, Vol. 3. The concept behind our present undertaking, the Mozart Piano Concertos CD trilogy, is to present a range of concertos from Mozart's various compositional and performing periods, styles, techniques and instrumentations. Our endeavour is also linked with an encore-like single work on each CD, namely a Rondo. The additional connecting link between these six piano concertos is the Cadenzas \u0026amp; Lead-ins which Lazic�has composed himself. Here he was inspired by the common practice of the composer's day.","brand":"Challenge Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012537700586,"sku":"608917294729","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4454960-3445195.jpg?v=1778198340"},{"product_id":"brahms-symphonies-2-4","title":"Brahms: Symphonies 2 \u0026 4","description":"His First Symphony famously took Brahms twenty-one years from conception to first performance - a marker of both his own highly self-critical assessment of his output, combined with the expectation of everyone around him that his symphonic output would naturally pick up where Beethoven had left off. Astonishingly, his Second Symphony was begun in June 1877 and received it's first performance just six months later, by the Vienna Philharmonic and Hans Richter. It's cheerful nature and pastoral mood are also a stark contrast to the first symphony.    Following a gap of some six years, Brahms returned to the form in 1883, and composed his third and then fourth symphonies in quick succession. Begun in 1884, the Fourth Symphony was premi�red by Brahms and the Meiningen court orchestra in October 1885. The work is especially notable for it's last movement, which takes the form of a passacaglia (an extremely rare occurrence) and is the only one of Brahms's symphonies to end in a minor key.","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012548874474,"sku":"0095115524824","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4467003-3467363.jpg?v=1778219047"},{"product_id":"sibelius-works-for-violin-orchestra","title":"Sibelius: Works for Violin and Orchestra \/ Ehnes, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eSibelius studied the violin in his youth, and actively entertained the prospect of a career as a professional violinist for much of his student life. After graduating from the Helsinki Music Institute, in 1890, he went to Vienna to continue his studies, and while there he even auditioned (unsuccessfully) for a place in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. So, it comes as no surprise that the instrument plays an important place in his compositional output. What might be surprising is that he wrote only one concerto – this might perhaps be due to the difficult conception of the work. The first performance received mixed reviews, and led to extensive revision of the score. It was only when Jascha Heifetz in the 1930s started to perform the concerto regularly that it gained its place in the standard repertoire. Although there was no second concerto, Sibelius’s numerous other works for violin and orchestra are no mere miniatures, as the recordings on this album amply demonstrate. The acclaimed international virtuoso James Ehnes is accompanied here by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012552052970,"sku":"095115526729","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4365233-3225847.jpg?v=1778232177"},{"product_id":"brahms-ein-deutsches-requiem","title":"Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem","description":"Composed between 1865 and 1868, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem has become a repertoire staple for choirs around the world, amateur and professional alike, possibly because it relies so much more on the choir than it's soloists to convey the texts than other works. Brahms chose not to set the Requiem Mass, but rather a collection of biblical texts of his own selection, taken from the Lutheran Bible (hence the 'deutsches'). Rather than a prayer for the dead, Brahms's concern is much more with offering comfort to the bereaved, still on earth. When challenged about the lack of a single reference to Christ in the entire work, Brahms responded, 'I would gladly omit even the word German and simply put Human'. This adds credence to the view that he saw the work in an entirely humanist way, and that the religious overtones of the title and text selection are much more a result of the avowedly Christian culture of his times than a specific decision to express personal belief. Edward Gardner and his Bergen forces are joined by the soloists Johanna Wallroth and Brian Mulligan in this exciting new recording.","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012553494762,"sku":"0095115527122","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4392430-3307306.jpg?v=1778211727"},{"product_id":"manmade","title":"Neset: Manmade \/ Neset, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra","description":"\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBorn in Bergen in 1985, the Norwegian saxophonist and composer Marius Neset has earned countless nominations and awards for his performances and recordings, and has performed with jazz musicians all over the world. He is increasingly in demand as a composer of works for the concert hall; these range over a wide spectrum of performing forces, many featuring the saxophone. This album features four world première recordings, three of which feature the composer as saxophone soloist. MANMADE is a concerto for saxophone and symphony orchestra in which the form and the structure are inspired by the climate change which our times are experiencing. The work is divided into five movements which concern themselves with man-made historical innovations that have contributed to the development of society, but that in many ways have also brought us step by step to the great global challenges facing the world today. Originally scored for flute, string quartet, and piano, Windless is a piece that Neset was keen to re-score for saxophone and orchestra. Similarly, A Day in the Sparrow’s Life started out as a piece for solo saxophone that has grown (via saxophone and string quartet) to the full orchestral score recorded here. Every Little Step was composed during lockdown when we all had to maintain a distance, and spend time by ourselves. It was also a period when we had to stand together in making all the small but crucial changes that would get us to the finish line. To Neset, it also offered the possibility of spending a lot of time with his new-born daughter and following her development from day to day.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012561260778,"sku":"095115529829","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4037987-3207682.jpg?v=1778250743"},{"product_id":"grieg-symphonic-dances-gardner-bergen-philharmonic-orchestra","title":"Grieg: Symphonic Dances \/ Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eGrieg’s four Symphonic Dances are a late work, completed in 1898. Grieg takes his inspiration (as in so much of his output) from traditional Norwegian folk tunes, and the four movements together deliver a symphonic unity in their overall effect. Both Bergliot and Before a Southern Convent are written on texts by Grieg’s good friend the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who was also a theatre manager in Oslo. Bjørnson is considered one of the four great Norwegian authors alongside Ibsen, Lie, and Kielland, received the 1903 Nobel Prize for literature, and wrote the words for the Norwegian national anthem. Bergliot – a declamation with orchestra – tells the story of a dramatic episode involving the chieftain Einar Tambarskjelve and his son Eindride, killed by King Harald Hårdråde. Before a Southern Convent is a more traditional setting – requiring two vocal soloists, female choir, and orchestra rather than the narrator of Bergliot – of the story of the folk-hero and barbarian Arnljot Gelline. In the course of his wild escapades, he killed a chieftain, but allowed the chieftain’s daughter, Ingigerd, to live. This daughter left the homestead and wandered southwards in poverty – through Europe. At long last she arrived at a convent which granted her admittance. The album is completed by the Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak – a friend of Grieg’s, who died of tuberculosis in 1866. Grieg conceived it first for solo piano, but whilst travelling by train to Bergen to attend Grieg’s funeral, Johan Halvorsen made the orchestral arrangement heard in this recording.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012563620074,"sku":"095115530122","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4289987-3147684_1cfe5e36-f9c6-4273-b782-9001f8aa8274.jpg?v=1778202593"},{"product_id":"nielsen-violin-concerto-symphony-no-4-james-ehnes-edward-gardner-bergen-philharmonic","title":"Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 4 \/ Ehnes, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eNielsen’s epic Violin Concerto was premiered in Copenhagen in February 1912, by violinist Peder Møller. Nominally the work is set in two movements; both open with a slow section and move to a faster one. Whilst unusual, this could be seen as a more usual fast – slow – fast three movement form, but with an extensive slow introduction to the first movement. The music moves quickly from one idea to the next, and overall has a bold, playful and optimistic feel. In stark contrast, although written only a few years later, the fourth symphony is more cohesive and unified as a work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten against the background of the first world war, the work is a celebration of life itself. Just before the premier in 1916, Nielsen described it as: ‘Music is Life, and, like it, inextinguishable.’ Composed in the usual four movement form, each movement continues from the last without a break. The final movement features two sets of timpani battling each other across the orchestra. The recording was made in Bergen’s Grieghallen, in Surround Sound, and is available as a hybrid SACD and in Spatial Audio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNielsen's Violin Concerto \u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ecouldn’t have a better advocate than James Ehnes: strong in his lyricism when he needs to be, alert to all dynamics and a sense of fantasy which is outstanding in the two cadenzas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- BBC Music Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003eJames Ehnes – that most elegant and unflashy of players – seems to relish all that is unexpected about the piece...Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic give it real backbone and play like its greatest champions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003e-- Gramophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003eIn Nielsen's Fourth Symphony, Gardner succeeds handily. The orchestra plays outstandingly well for him in all departments and he keeps the symphony moving. This is appropriate because all the movements are connected. I found his slightly quicker tempo for the second movement convincing with the woodwinds as delectable as one would expect and the dynamics quieter than in some recordings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003e-- MusicWeb International\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012566896874,"sku":"095115531129","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4201661-2974515.jpg?v=1778248416"},{"product_id":"nielsen-flute-concerto-symphony-no-3-pan-syrinx-bergen-philharmonic-orchestra","title":"Nielsen: Flute Concerto; Symphony No. 3 \/ Walker, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor this second instalment in their Nielsen cycle, Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra are joined by the flautist Adam Walker for a programme that combines the Flute Concerto, the Third Symphony, and the tone poem Pan and Syrinx. Nielsen began work on the Third Symphony in 1910, some seven years after he had completed his second symphony ‘The Four Temperaments’, and the work was premièred in Copenhagen in 1912. In his album note, Paul Griffiths describes the work’s eventual title, ‘Sinfonia espansiva’ as a fifth temperament – Joviality. In the second movement, uniquely in his symphonic output, Nielsen calls for (wordless) voices – solo soprano and baritone. It was also the first of his symphonies to be commercially released on record – Erik Tuxen conducting the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Composed in 1926, the Flute Concerto is a late work, and demonstrates Nielsen’s stylistic evolution towards the new modernism. The soloist engages in repeated interactions with other instruments within the orchestra, most notably the clarinet and the bass trombone. Pan and Syrinx dates from 1918, and is based on the ancient legend which tells how the amorous god Pan invented the pan flute whilst pursuing the nymph Syrinx.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012567716074,"sku":"095115531228","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4302708-3148804.jpg?v=1778202655"},{"product_id":"nielsen-helios-clarinet-concerto-symphony-no-5","title":"Nielsen: Helios; Clarinet Concerto; Symphony No. 5","description":"Edward Gardner's series of Nielsen symphonies with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra continues with this recording of No. 5, complemented with the overture Helios and the Clarinet Concerto, featuring Alessandro Carbonare as soloist. Nielsen composed Helios in 1903 on a trip to Greece, as his wife, Anne Marie, a sculptor, had won a grant to copy sculptures on the Acropolis. Over it's ten-twelve-minute duration, the work depicts sunrise, noontime, and then sunset over the Aegean Sea, and is one of the composer's most performed works. The Clarinet Concerto dates from 1928 and is cast in one long movement falling into four sections. It is dedicated to Nielsen's friend Aage Oxenvad who gave the first performance. Composed between 1920 and 1922, the Fifth Symphony is unusually laid out in just two movements - the only piece by Nielsen to adopt this structure. Unlike his other mature symphonies, the fifth lacks a subtitle, and so could be considered to be more 'pure music' compared to the descriptive nature of the others. Nielsen described the symphony as 'the division of dark and light, the battle between evil and good' and the opposition between 'Dreams and Deeds'. Considered by many as a \"war symphony\", Nielsen insisted that he had not been thinking of World War I whilst he was composing the work, but also commented \"not one of us is the same as we were before the war\".","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012568469738,"sku":"0095115531426","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4439273-3412646.jpg?v=1778193090"},{"product_id":"norgard-symphony-no-8-orchestral-works-herresthal-kullberg-storgards-bergen","title":"Nørgård: Symphony No. 8; Orchestral Works \/ Storgårds, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHaving celebrated his 90th birthday in 2022, Per Nørgård is undoubtedly one of the most important Danish composers since Nielsen. His important production that covers all genres is a highly personal travel document based on his endless incursions through the sonic labyrinths of this world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBased on material from Nørgård’s viola concerto from 1986, Three Nocturnal Movements for violin, cello and orchestra came about on the initiative of the violinist Peter Herresthal and the cellist Jakob Kullberg, two of his long-term collaborators. The work was creatively developed for two soloists by Kullberg, who decided on the form of the movement after making a selection of musical fragments described as ‘nocturnal’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDedicated to the conductor John Storgårds, Symphony No. 8 appears bright, transparent while its atmosphere is somewhat mysterious and filled with tension. This symphony, his most recent work in this genre, can be compared to latter works from other Nordic composers like Sibelius and Nielsen. Finally, Lysning, a short piece for string orchestra, has been described by Nørgård as a ‘glade’ and is made of an alternance of darker and brighter variations of the same musical ideas heard in different instrumental colourings and nuances.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012576006378,"sku":"7318599925028","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4235462-3143308.jpg?v=1778201045"},{"product_id":"anton-bruckner-symphony-no-4-thomas-dausgaard-bergen-philharmonic","title":"Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 \/ Dausgaard, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter acclaimed recordings of the Third (‘Dausgaard… makes the music sound vital and even revolutionary’, Fanfare) and Sixth (‘This persuasively played work could be no better served’, MusicWeb International), Thomas Dausgaard and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra now present Anton Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, ‘Romantic’ in its second version (1878-1880), the one with which this work has become widely known. “Nothing like this has been written since Beethoven” conductor Hans Richter is said to have declared after the successful premiere of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony in Vienna in 1881. This success finally gave the 56-year-old composer the attention and recognition he sorely needed and one can affirm that it was from this day onwards that Bruckner was actually cultivated in Vienna after years of public humiliation. Despite its nickname given by the composer himself, this symphony in no way expresses existential pain. Rather, the romanticism refers to the experience of nature – from sublime forest magic to hunting scenes – emphasized by the horn, the quintessential romantic instrument, which is given a prominent role.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell6_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eDausgaard emerged early on as one of the most convincing HIP conductors of standard repertoire, and he has earned the right to express his individuality in Bruckner under normal conditions, one might say. His involvement with the score is undoubted, which makes the issue of fast tempos mostly irrelevant. Being different is worthwhile only when the difference is musically meaningful. I think that Dausgaard easily passes that test, in a Bruckner Fourth that is among the most striking in years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- Fanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012587704554,"sku":"7318599925349","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/7318599925349.pt01.jpg?v=1778247829"},{"product_id":"richard-strauss-salome","title":"Richard Strauss: Salome","description":"Oscar Wilde's play Salome was conceived for the actress Sarah Bernhardt and was originally planned for performance in London, in 1892. The play was blocked by the sensor (it was forbidden at the time to depict biblical characters on stage) and so first given in Paris instead, in 1896. Wilde never saw his play performed, as he was serving a prison sentence for homosexual acts whilst the only two performances in his lifetime occurred. Subsequently the play gained popularity in Germany, and having attended a performance in Berlin in 1902, Strauss determined that this would be the subject for his third opera. First performed in 1905, Strauss's Salome has gone on to become much better-known than Wilde's play, and is regularly performed at opera houses around the world. This live recording was made at a performance at the Usher Hall, in Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2022. Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra are joined by an outstanding cast of soloists, led by Malin Bystrom in the title role, Gerhard Siegel as Herod, Katarina Dalayman as Herodias, and Johan Reuter as John the Baptist.","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012592652522,"sku":"095115535622","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4413307-3364102.jpg?v=1778211490"},{"product_id":"richard-strauss-elektra","title":"Richard Strauss: Elektra","description":"First performed in Dresden in 1909, Elektra was Strauss's first collaboration (of many) with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and is the most modernist of all of his operas. Based on the (heavily reworked) play by Sophocles, Hofmannsthal's version concentrates on the inner thoughts and feelings of Elektra as she holds individual conversations with other members of her family. Strauss's score is exceptionally adventurous harmonically, and famously features the Elektra Chord (a simultaneous combination of E major and C sharp major). The orchestration is exceptionally lavish - even by Strauss's standards - featuring eight horns, six trumpets, double timpani, and two harps. The performance was recorded live in Bergen in December 2023, Edward Gardner conducting a cast led by the great Swedish dramatic soprano Ir�ne Theorin, one of the finest Elektras of our time.","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012598616298,"sku":"0095115537527","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4484269-3505360.jpg?v=1778223501"},{"product_id":"mazzoli-dark-with-excessive-bright-7318599925721","title":"Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright \/ Herresthal, Gaffigan, Arctic \u0026 Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eNamed ‘2022 Composer of the Year’ by Musical America, Missy Mazzoli inhabits an exquisite and mysterious sound-world in which indie-rock sensibilities meet American minimalism, European modernism and classical traditions. The first woman ever to receive a commission from the Metropolitan Opera, she has also composed for prominent soloists, ensembles and orchestras around the world. Through her music, she reaches to the roots of tradition, inhabits and renovates older forms while using every resource at her command. Mazzoli, who says that she likes “to tell stories”, always imagines actors, singers and dancers grappling with a situation, even when she composes instrumental works. The album is bookended by two versions of the same work: loosely based on baroque idioms the violin concerto Dark with Excessive Bright is first heard with string orchestra accompaniment and then in a chamber version. The soloist is in both cases Peter Herresthal, who also performs Vespers for Violin, a piece for amplified violin and electronics using sampled organs, voices and strings, drenched in delay and distortion. Three orchestral works complete the programme: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), These Worlds in Us and Orpheus Undone in performances by the Arctic Philharmonic under Tim Weiss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Missy Mazzoli was just 10 years old, growing up in rural Pennsylvania, she confidently declared she was a composer, although she hadn’t written a single note. Her family thought it was a phase she would get through. Now 42, Mazzoli is among today’s busiest and most respected composers. She’s best known for her operas, such as the career-boosting\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBreaking the Waves\u003c\/em\u003e, but a new album, titled\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eDark with Excessive Bright\u003c\/em\u003e, is the first to showcase the young composer’s purely symphonic music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[The] titular\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eDark with Excessive Bright\u003c\/em\u003e [is] a lyrical violin concerto inspired by a very old double bass which sat in an Italian monastery for centuries and whose cracks were patched with pages from the Good Friday liturgy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe concerto riffs on baroque formulas while recycling motifs in fresh disguises. Like a photographer, Mazzoli captures moments rich in texture and charged with expression. They are hard to describe, but you can see them in your ear. For example, after the orchestra slides up to a cadence, low strings pluck the beat, high strings twinkle with glitter, and in the middle, a melody wanders a solitary path. (As a fascinating bonus, the album includes a reduced version of the piece for solo violin and string quintet.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e...while this album is purely symphonic, drama abounds in the music. Mazzoli dedicates the piece\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThese Worlds in Us\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eto her father, a Vietnam vet. Sometimes the music swirls downward on sliding string figures while other passages prove that Mazzoli knows how to make an orchestra roar like a jet engine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComing of age in a DIY environment, and encouraged by outfits like the Bang on a Can collective of composer-performers, Mazzoli is at home using rock instruments and electronics in her music. On\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eVespers for Violin\u003c\/em\u003e, played with ardor and agility by Peter Herresthal, Mazzoli sampled old organs, strings and voices, and waterlogged them in distortion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMazzoli likes to think of herself as primarily an opera composer. But with instrumental music as expressive and rigorously built as this – not to mention the dynamic performances here by the Bergen and Arctic Philharmonic Orchestras – we kindly ask that she not forget the command she holds over a symphony orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- NPR Music\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012606906602,"sku":"7318599925721","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4173739-3143315.jpg?v=1778238410"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-the-symphonies-litton-bergen-philharmonic-943297","title":"Prokofiev: The Symphonies \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eCelebrating the 130th anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953), the present box set brings together recordings of his seven symphonies made by Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra between 2012 and 2017. Released on separate discs, the series has received acclaim from international reviewers, variously highlighting the orchestra ('Bergen Philharmonic plays gorgeously... ', ClassicsToday. Com), the conductor ('It is clear that Litton has a deep understanding of Prokofiev's complex, protean style... ', MusicWeb-International) and the recordings themselves ('BIS's blockbuster sound... ', Fanfare). The symphonies appear with their original couplings, including the popular suites from the film score to Lieutenant Kijé and the ballet The Love for Three Oranges. As an added bonus, the set includes the team's very first recording for BIS: an innovative and highly praised version of Prokofiev's three suites from Romeo and Juliet, with the 20 movements reordered to follow the ballet score.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExcerpts of reviews from previously released volumes included in this set:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProkofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1-3\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn sum these performances, engineered with warmth, clarity and impact, rank with best; and having all three symphonies on a single disc makes this release something of a bargain as well–even at full price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– ClassicsToday.com \u003cstrong\u003e(10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e; David Hurwitz)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a perfect disc; absolutely everything goes right. The revised, enlarged version of the Fourth Symphony can sound bloated and too long for its material. This performance, by contrast, has passion, color, and drive aplenty. Especially in the outer movements, you’d never know that the leaner, meaner first version exists, and no praise can be higher than that.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Seventh has always been, for me at least, a better work than many commentators allow. It contains, for example, one of Prokofiev’s best lyrical melodies in its first movement and finale. The waltz-like scherzo is wholly delightful, the slow third movement touching. Prokofiev often indulges a deliberate simplicity, and Litton takes him at his word, never for a moment lapsing into artifice or affectation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The finale, which we get to hear twice complete, once with each of its endings, is particularly breezy and exhilarating. Through it all the Bergen Philharmonic plays gorgeously, and the SACD sonics are state-of-the-art. A wonderful release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– ClassicsToday.com \u003cstrong\u003e(10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e; David Hurwitz)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012848799978,"sku":"7318599925943","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3993589-2733338.jpg?v=1778264731"},{"product_id":"bartok-concerto-for-orchestra-dance-suite-rhapsodies-185701","title":"Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Dance Suite \u0026 Rhapsodies \/ Ehnes, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eFour years after a highly successful Bartok recording with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner here returns to the composer on SACD, with James Ehnes as solo violinist, and his Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. The central piece in this recording is the Concerto for Orchestra, the largest work that Bartok completed during the last five years of his life and described by the composer, in the program notes for its 1944 premiere, as ‘a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one.’ It is joined by the Dance Suite, the immediate predecessor, among Bartok’s few works for full orchestra without a soloist, of the Concerto for Orchestra, though by more than two decades; and by the violin Rhapsodies, the colorful folk influences of which are revealed by James Ehnes, a specialist in the repertoire, who already has recorded the complete sonatas as well as the concertos for violin and for viola to critical acclaim.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012965355754,"sku":"095115518922","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3895892_00e1d3a2-7050-48a1-a9c5-6dc596bcd9af.jpg?v=1778253216"},{"product_id":"britten-canteloube-eriksmoen-gardner-bergen-philharmonic-orchestra","title":"Britten, Canteloube: Vocal Works \/ Eriksmoen, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eNorwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen is undoubtedly a rising star at the moment, following successful appearances at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Oper Frankfurt, Komische Oper Berlin, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. On the concert stage she has made recent important appearances with the Orchestre de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, and Münchner Philharmoniker among others. Here she joins the Bergen Philharmonic and Edward Gardner for a powerful album of orchestral songs, coupling Britten’s Les Illuminations and Four French Songs with a selection of Cantaloube’s inimitable Songs of the Auvergne. Eriksmoen spent a year studying in Paris, and proves an effective and natural singer of the French language. As she mentions in her program note: ‘It is highly demanding to sing in French when it is not one’s native tongue, but I have always felt at home when singing in French and nurture an emotional attachment to the French language.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003e One cannot can’t praise Eriksmoen enough for the accuracy of her singing, its tonal beauty, and her absorption in the text. There are running passages, exposed intervals, and those chromatic steps to contend with. She faces every challenge with ease.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003e-- Fanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003eIn Britten’s Les illuminations, the generally belllike accuracy of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen’s singing is more than matched by the expressive truth of her interpretations. She is most beguiling when floating her voice weightlessly and with a serene joie de vivre in ‘Antique’, perfectly partnered by the lovely violin playing of the Bergen Philharmonic leader Melina Mandozzi.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"c-product-review--quote\"\u003e-- BBC Music Magazine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013119856874,"sku":"095115528921","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4012989-2767984.jpg?v=1778229956"},{"product_id":"bruckner-symphony-no-3-dausgaard-bergen-941309","title":"Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 \/ Dausgaard, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing a visit to Wagner in Bayreuth in 1873, Anton Bruckner dedicated his most recent symphony, No.3 in D minor, to ‘the unattainable world-famous noble master of poetry and music’ and would later refer to the work as his ‘Wagner Symphony’. Among Bruckner’s symphonies, it is the one with the most complicated genesis: the first version was followed by substantial revisions and it exists in two more versions, from 1877\/78 and 1888\/89. The first version was never performed in Bruckner’s lifetime – in fact, more than a century passed before the work was heard in the form that Wagner first knew and called ‘a masterpiece’. This is the version that Thomas Dausgaard has chosen to perform, as he and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra follow up on their recording of the composer’s Sixth Symphony, praised in Fanfare for having ‘all of Bruckner’s splendor and tenderness without any excess baggage’. Dausgaard explains the reason for his choice as follows: ‘The original version stands as a monolith … what you go through is musically so strong, swinging between timelessness and drive, despair and ecstasy, divine light and hellish fire, that in the end I feel you have to let yourself go and be won over by it.’\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eDausgaard's Bruckner symphonies tend toward the quick side, but he has never been quite as relatively fast as he is here; his original Symphony No. 3 is more than 12 minutes faster than a version by Kent Nagano from the early 2000s, and his reading comes in even shorter than some of the recordings of Bruckner's abridged versions. This is all to the good, even for listeners who prefer heavier Bruckner to Dausgaard's rather lithe style. Dausgaard's quick tempos catch the kaleidoscope of moods, and with them, the febrile quality of Bruckner's imagination in this work, really his creative breakthrough. Dausgaard's management of his Bergen musicians is, as usual, exemplary as they skitter through the difficult passages that bedeviled the symphony's early interpreters. A high point in Dausgaard's Bruckner project.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e– AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013163208938,"sku":"7318599924649","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3987830-2727710.jpg?v=1778264242"},{"product_id":"neeme-jarvi-highlights-from-a-remarkable-30-79441","title":"Neeme Jarvi - Highlights From A Remarkable 30 Year Recording Career","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis year, we celebrate the thirty-year conducting career of Neeme Järvi with Chandos records, as well as the conductor’s own seventy-fifth birthday. Chandos marks the occasion with this two-disc set of highlights, featuring a varied selection of concert hall rarities and core classics, along with some popular showpieces and examples of Järvi’s championing of Estonian and American music. Gramophone said of his recently concluded Halvorsen series, “Järvis finds in the music a drama and pathos that might come as a revelation even to the composer.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013166649578,"sku":"095115244425","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2017576.jpg?v=1778333006"},{"product_id":"wallin-manyworlds-hardenberger-storgards-bergen-philharmonic-256892","title":"Wallin: Manyworlds  \/ Hardenberger, Storgards, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis set includes a Blu-ray audio CD playable on Blu-ray players only and a standard CD playable on all CD players.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis special CD Blu-Ray Audio Ondine release includes world première recordings of three orchestral works by Norwegian composer Rolf Wallin (b. 1957), among the most exciting contemporary composer figures in Scandinavia, performed by the Bergen Symphony Orchestra and Finnish conductor John Storgårds. Fisher King, a concertante piece for Trumpet and Orchestra (2011) features one of today’s greatest trumpeters, Håkan Hardenberger. Composed more than thirty years ago, Id was Mr. Wallin’s first-ever orchestral work. Manyworlds is an extensive, half-hour’s long orchestra work, jointly commissioned by the Bergen, Helsinki and NDR, Hannover orchestras. The title of the work refers to the Many-world theory in quantum physics dealing with a very large, perhaps infinite number of parallel universes. The Blu-Ray Audio disc, an Ondine first, also includes a 2D \u0026amp; 3D Video by Boya Bøckman based on Manyworlds.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ondine","offers":[{"title":"CD + Blu-Ray","offer_id":46013181821162,"sku":"761195126721","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2892743.jpg?v=1778382589"},{"product_id":"symphonies-nos-1-2-3-396574","title":"Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1-3 \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs a composer Sergei Prokofiev was so versatile that audiences never quite knew what to expect. As a strategy, this could misfire but with his first symphony he got things just right. He once described what he had wanted to achieve: ‘If Haydn had lived into this era he would have kept his own style while absorbing things from what was new in music. That’s the kind of symphony I wanted to write...’ The ‘Classical’ symphony has been a true classic since its first performance in 1918 and is one of the few genuinely witty pieces in the twentieth-century orchestral repertory. A few months after the performance, Prokofiev left Russia for the USA where he remained for some years before settling in Paris in 1923. It was here that he composed the Second Symphony, now with the aim to be as up-to-date as possible. The first audience in 1925 was more bewildered than enthusiastic, however, and Prokofiev himself came to have doubts, wondering whether in this symphony ‘made out of iron and steel’ he’d overdone the rough counterpoint and density of texture. He now returned to a project he had been working on for several years – the opera The Fiery Angel. In 1928, when he began to think that no opera house would take it up, Prokofiev decided to reuse the music and found that ‘the material unexpectedly packed itself up into a four-movement symphony’ – his Third, characterized by an overwhelming sense of anxiety and tension. The present disc is the fourth and last in a symphony cycle which has earned the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Litton critical acclaim worldwide.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This disc represents one heck of a deal–86 minutes of first-class Prokofiev courtesy of BIS, Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic. The “Classical” Symphony receives a performance in which nothing–and I mean NOTHING–gets taken for granted. Litton adopts a leisurely tempo for the opening movement, allowing sufficient time for each delectable instrumental detail to register. The entire performance sounds like chamber music writ large. At this stage in his career, Litton’s conducting has become more heavily inflected, sometimes to the point of mannerism. You can hear this approach most clearly in the Gavotte, but never (in this case) to the point of excess–and the finale is probably the most pointed and characterful version currently available. If you think you know this music cold, think again. You’ve got to hear this.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Second and Third Symphonies both belong to Prokofiev’s “gnarly” phase, but I think they’re much better than their reputation leads us to believe. At least in these performances, Litton uncovers a world of color and nuance, never mind an abundance of melody sometimes concealed beneath and within the music’s hard-edged exterior. The Second Symphony’s concluding variation movement, for example, contains an entire population of captivating vignettes, and each one springs vividly to life. Similarly, Litton and the Bergen players beautifully declog the dense textures in the Third Symphony’s outer movements while still leaving the music plenty of room to shock. This work, in particular, has been very lucky on disc in the digital era, with superb versions from Järvi, Chailly, and above all, Muti; but this newcomer certainly belongs in their company.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In sum these performances, engineered with warmth, clarity and impact, rank with best best; and having all three symphonies on a single disc makes this release something of a bargain as well–even at full price.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – ClassicsToday.com (\u003cstrong\u003e10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e; David Hurwitz)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013245718762,"sku":"7318599921747","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3851145-2604879.jpg?v=1778257943"},{"product_id":"grieg-peer-gynt-op-23-ruud-hagegard-202564","title":"Grieg: Peer Gynt Op. 23 \/ Ruud, Hagegård, Et Al","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If you want Grieg's complete Peer Gynt with dialogue, this is the set to own. It really does represent a new standard, musically, dramatically, and technically. Let me say up front that ordinarily I'm not a fan of music with dialogue, but these actors are so involved, and their participation is so skillfully integrated into the acoustic framework and the musical flow, that the sound of idiomatically spoken Norwegian becomes a sort of quasi-musical counterpoint all on its own. Of course, it helps that the actual music, as realized by Ruud and his Bergen forces, also is outstandingly played and sung. His interpretation has all of the necessary freshness and energy that Grieg's score requires. It's theatrical and exciting but also sensitive; rustic without being crude.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e High points are almost too numerous to list: there's Ruud's ebullient overture and his perfectly judged accelerando at In the Hall of the Mountain King; the rush of excitement when Peer Gynt is being hunted by the trolls; the characterfully grotesque Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter; the effortless flow of Morning Mood; Anitra's sexy little belly dance; a wonderfully urgent Peer Gynt's Homecoming; a terrifying shipwreck that happily avoids tacky sound effects; and it's all capped by the beautiful vocal contributions of Marita Solberg, who sings a particularly earthy, warm-toned Solveig. As with all the participants in this performance, she seems not just concerned with getting the notes right, but she's also fully involved with the text and in communicating what the music means, almost as if it were new. The chorus also characterizes its part with enthusiasm, avoiding that \"churchy\" feel that sometimes dogs performances with voices (except, of course, in the Whitsun Hymn, where it's called for).\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It's also worth pointing out the extreme care that BIS has taken over production values. In SACD multichannel format, not only do you get enhanced three-dimensionality with respect to the basic soundstage, but sensitive use of the rear speakers creates atmosphere--for example, at such moments as the scene with the Boyg, or at various places requiring offstage voices--without ever drawing gratuitous attention to the technical side of things. The bottom line is that this production offers an unparalleled experience of Grieg's music in which the technology is placed entirely in the service of musical and theatrical values. The packaging and presentation are also exceptional: you get two booklets, one with notes and texts (Norwegian and English), the other with production stills from the actual play. Clearly everyone concerned with this release has pulled out all of the stops, and it has paid off handsomely. An exceptional achievement. [6\/28\/2005]\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013270753514,"sku":"7318591441427","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1633142.jpg?v=1778333860"},{"product_id":"grieg-norwegian-dances-symphonic-dances-lyric-suite-121997","title":"Grieg: Norwegian Dances, Symphonic Dances, Lyric Suite \/ Ruud, Bergen PO","description":"\u003cp\u003eAnother 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013277929706,"sku":"7318599912912","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632956.jpg?v=1778333841"},{"product_id":"gershwin-rhapsody-in-blue-piano-concerto-in-62685","title":"Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, Piano Concerto In F, Second Rhapsody \/ Litton, Kempf, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe arresting clarinet glissando at the start of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is probably the most famous opening in American music. It also serves as a symbol for an important current in 20th century music - that of merging popular genres and art music into something wholly new - and as such becomes even more significant through the fact that it wasn't even in the score when the composer first started rehearsals with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, before the première in 1924: this particular feature, oozing of smoky jazz clubs, was arrived at in collaboration with the clarinettist of the orchestra. At the time, Gershwin was was a mere 25 years old, but already a celebrated jazz pianist and songsmith, with a string of hits to his name. Due to a lack of time, he entrusted the orchestration to Ferde Grofé, the regular arranger of Whiteman's jazz band. The immediate success of the work created a demand for a version for symphony orchestra, however, and for a long time that was the one most usually heard in concert and on disc. On the present recording, Freddy Kempf and the conductor Andrew Litton - himself a noted soloist in Gershwin's works for piano and orchestra - have opted for the original orchestration, allowing the musicians of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra to revel in the role of a classic American big band. Following the première of Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin was commissioned to write a 'proper' piano concerto. He did so the following year, this time providing his own orchestration. Also highly successful with its original audience, Concerto in F employed the rhythms, melodic structures and bluesy harmonies of popular music, but its form is resolutely classical. Also included on the disc are Gershwin's two remaining works for piano and orchestra, the Second Rhapsody (here in his own, original orchestration) and the infectious Variations on 'I Got Rhythm'. The performers on this disc have previously collaborated in a highly acclaimed recording of works by Prokofiev - a disc shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in 2010. The reviewer in International Record Review found it 'an exciting performance, with soloist and conductor working as one' with 'wit as well as virtuosity in Kempf's playing' - qualities that are in rich evidence in this new release too.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013288612074,"sku":"7318599919409","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263850_9864c131-b8d5-42b2-9d6e-352b676afd76.jpg?v=1778316096"},{"product_id":"barber-cello-concerto-sonata-adagio-poltera-stott-175782","title":"Barber: Cello Concerto, Sonata, Adagio \/ Poltera, Stott, Litton","description":"\u003cp\u003eBARBERCTO \u0026amp; SONATA FOR CELLO \u0026amp; ORCH.POLTERA (CELLO); BERGEN P.O. POLTERA (CELLO); BERGEN P.O.\/LITTON; STOTT (PIANO) CTO \u0026amp; SONATA FOR CELLO \u0026amp; ORCH.; ADAGIO FOR STRINGS\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013289791722,"sku":"7318599918273","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263799.jpg?v=1778313210"},{"product_id":"sibelius-orchestral-works-davidsen-gardner-bergen-philharmonic-orchestra","title":"Sibelius:  Orchestral Works \/ Davidsen, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing their acclaimed recordings of Schoenberg with Sara Jakubiak and Britten’s Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton, Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic turn their attention to the music of Sibelius. Written in 1913 for the diva Aino Ackté, the tone poem Luonnotar draws on text from the Finnish national epic poem, the Kalevala. Its virtuosic demands are ably met here by award-wining soprano Lise Davidsen, who also feature in the Suite from Pelléas and Mélisande, music re-worked by Sibelius from his incidental music written for the first performances of Maeterlinck’s play in Helsinki, in 1905, in Swedish. The tone poem Tapiola, from 1926, is Sibelius’ last great masterpiece and evokes the forests of his native Finland. The programme is completed by a pair of much earlier works, Rakastava (the Lover) and Vårsång (Spring Song).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere’s a mostly excellent disc, smartly programmed to offer an appealing mix of familiar and less-known music. Soprano Lise Davidsen seems to be all over the place these days. She’s the real deal, an intelligent and affecting singer with the vocal heft and secure technique to do justice to just about anything she tries. Let’s hope her current popularity doesn’t result in a premature vocal blowout. Her Luonnotar is beautiful, but just a hair too fast. This of course makes it easier to sing, but there’s more mystery and atmosphere in the music than Gardner and Davidsen realize here. It’s my only quibble about this otherwise wholly desirable program.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs for the rest: this Tapiola has all of the eerie strangeness missing in Luonnotar–and let’s face it: Is there a more alien and spooky sounding work out there, by anyone? Gardner is so adept at easing the music from one section to another that you have to wonder why he was in such a rush in Luonnotar? The Pelleas and Melisande music goes splendidly, each of its numbers played to the hilt, with Melisande at the Spinning Wheel and the following Entr’acte especially memorable. Rakastava (The Lover) is an odd arrangement for strings (with triangle and timpani) of an original vocal work. Seldom performed and melodically elusive, it’s good to hear a fresh new version. Spring Song is another rarity. It’s hymn-like opulence sounds strangely un-Sibelian, although it represents perhaps the most extended example of a very characteristic aspect of his musical personality. It’s splendidly done, its successive climaxes especially well-judged by Gardner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs you might have guessed, the Bergen Philharmonic sounds terrific, as do the sonics. Never mind the unfortunately zippy Luonnotar. This is great stuff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013340057834,"sku":"095115521724","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3972972-2713524.jpg?v=1778229966"},{"product_id":"schoenberg-erwartung-pelleas-und-melisande-jakubiak-gardner-292465","title":"Schoenberg: Erwartung \u0026 Pelleas und Melisande \/Jakubiak, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"Written only six years apart, these two works share a common narrative of frustrated love, and the concept of the forest as a metaphor for the subconscious mind. Musically they are wildly different, however; Pelleas, which Schoenberg wrote in his late twenties, is the epitome of his late romantic style, indebted to Richard Strauss. Erwartung (his first work for the stage) was written after his conversion to atonality. Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelleas et Melisande fired the imaginations of several of the greatest composers of the time. Debussy began writing his opera almost immediately after its publication in 1892, and within a decade or so Faure and Sibelius had created elaborate incidental scores for different stage productions of the play. Schoenberg composed his tone poem in 1902 – 03, for a large-scale (Straussian) orchestra. Schoenberg seems to have put himself into a state of free association to write Erwartung, which he completed in just seventeen days in August 1909. ‘In Erwartung, the aim is to represent in slow motion everything that occurs during a single second of maximum spiritual excitement, stretching it out to half an hour’, he wrote. Not only the first solo opera, this is perhaps also the first cinematic one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eREVIEW:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGardner keeps the music’s sumptuousness on a tight rein, favouring faster tempi than most other interpreters. But he makes sure the shape of the huge musical structure is never compromised, and there’s no lack of tonal weight when required from the Bergen Philharmonic. Jakubiak is a compelling soprano soloist too, far less histrionic and squally than some.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e– Guardian (UK)","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013478895850,"sku":"095115519820","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3812199-2561379.jpg?v=1778250831"},{"product_id":"rachmaninov-symphony-no-2-liadov-the-enchanted-62689","title":"Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 - Liadov: The Enchanted Lake \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Since his appointment as chief conductor and later music director in 2003, Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra have richly proven a particular affinity for Russian repertoire, both on their numerous tours and in recording. Works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Medtner and Scriabin have featured on discs which have been welcomed by the international music press with distinctions such as Editor's Choice (Gramophone), Disc of the Month (Classic FM Magazine and ClassicsToday.com), Empfohlen (Klassik-Heute.de) and IRR Outstanding (International Record Review). As Litton now steps down from his post with the Bergen orchestra, the team marks the event with their rendition of Sergei Rachmaninov's gigantic Second Symphony, with its playing time of 60+ minutes as broad and expansive as the Russian steppes. The work followed upon a first symphony which in 1897 had had a disastrous reception, and it took the intensely self-critical Rachmaninov ten years before making another attempt at the genre. Fortunately the first performance of the work in 1908 was a complete success, the broad melodic gestures and the arduous journey from the brooding melancholy of the symphony’s introduction to the triumphant liberation at its close speaking directly to the St Petersburg audience. Later criticism of the symphony’s broad scale prompted Rachmaninov to sanction several cuts, however, and it was only in the mid-1960s that it became common practice to perform the symphony complete – as in the present recording. Rachmaninov is joined on the disc by his older colleague Anatoly Liadov, whose brief and shimmering tone poem The Enchanted Lake provides an atmospheric ending to the recording – in the words of Liadov himself an image of nature, as ‘fantastic as a fairy tale’, in which the listener will feel ‘the change of the colours, the chiaroscuro, the incessantly changeable stillness…’\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Review:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony is often accused of being gargantuan, schmaltzy and overblown. In Andrew Litton’s new recording with the Bergen Philharmonic, it sounds gargantuan, schmaltzy – and just blown enough, if you like your Rachmaninov big and extrovert.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – Guardian (UK)","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46025940664554,"sku":"7318599920719","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3037499.jpg?v=1778301070"},{"product_id":"grieg-the-complete-orchestral-music-83665","title":"Grieg: The Complete Orchestral Music","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  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), deeming the Peer Gynt Suites to be ‘interpretations that rejuvenate even this almost hackneyed, overly familiar music, relieving it of all the ballast of performance history’ (klassik.com).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  It was the freshness of the performances by Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra that struck most critics – freshness coupled with expertise: ‘Bergen musicians have lived with these scores since their creation and all the performances here have a relaxed, idiomatic naturalness in their virtuosity’ (Gramophone). A second point was the superior sound quality – the result of inspired and painstaking work by the BIS recording staff in combination with the splendid acoustics of the Grieg Hall in Bergen. ‘Sonically this production features demonstration quality both in stereo and SACD multi-channel formats’ wrote the reviewer of Classics Today.com; ‘a fabulous complete cycle, admirably served by the splendid recording technique’ was the verdict in Classica-Répertoire.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The third factor contributing to the warm reception was of course the music itself, the fascination and power exerted by the Piano Concerto and the complete Peer Gynt, the emotion projected in Bergliot and Den Bergtekne, the charm and freshness of the orchestral songs and Lyric Suite – in the words of one reviewer: ‘music that you'd have to be either deaf or dead not to love’. The complete traversal, generally considered a reference point in the Grieg discography, is now available in this stereo-only version at a very advantageous price. (8 CDs for the price of 3)\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026302357738,"sku":"7318591740421","price":55.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262635.jpg?v=1778313265"},{"product_id":"glazunov-tchaikovsky-violin-concertos-gluzman-litton-bergen-65958","title":"Glazunov, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos \/ Gluzman, Litton, Bergen PO","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026303013098,"sku":"7318599914329","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632907.jpg?v=1778333785"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-piano-concertos-2-3-kempf-litton-65937","title":"Prokofiev: Piano Concertos 2 \u0026 3 \/ Kempf, Litton","description":"\u003cp\u003eSeparately, both Freddy Kempf and the team of Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton have recorded music by Prokofiev for BIS, resulting in highly acclaimed releases. Freddy Kempf's 2003 Prokofiev solo recital was described as 'a superb disc' in Gramophone, whose critic went on to write: 'Kempf is joyfully exuberant, flashing through every savage challenge with the assurance and instinct of a born virtuoso.' Four years later, the Bergen orchestra and Litton recorded the twenty movements from the composer's three Romeo and Juliet suites, performed in the order the music appears in the ballet score. The outcome of this original approach was widely praised, for instance by the reviewer on the German website Klassik Heute: \"a European top orchestra and an American conductor with great insights into the Russian repertoire meet up, and the result is sparkling, colourful, ardent and with great presence...\" Kempf, Litton and the Bergen PO now join forces in an all-Prokofiev programme that includes the most popular of his five piano concertos, namely the Third, a spontaneous work, vigorous and melodic in turns and full of striking material presented in a typical Prokofiev manner. This is coupled with the Second Piano Concerto, which Prokofiev himself premièred in 1913, shocking the audience with its modernistic sounds and jagged rhythms. The original score was lost during the Russian Revolution and Prokofiev reconstructed the work in Paris in 1923. According to the composer himself, the new version was so completely rewritten that it almost constituted a new work. Between the two concertos Freddy Kempf performs the Second Piano Sonata, a key work in Prokofiev's development and full of striking and individual ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026319397098,"sku":"7318599918204","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632754_16da567d-a2e6-4561-9448-e4be195da757.jpg?v=1778323634"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphonies-nos-4-7-litton-bergen-173683","title":"Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 \u0026 7 \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  This is a perfect disc. Andrew Litton’s Prokofiev symphonies have been inconsistent so far, ranging from an excellent Sixth to a ho-hum Fifth. Here absolutely everything goes right. The revised, enlarged version of the Fourth Symphony can sound bloated and too long for its material. This performance, by contrast, has passion, color, and drive aplenty. Especially in the outer movements, you’d never know that the leaner, meaner first version exists, and no praise can be higher than that.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The Seventh has always been, for me at least, a better work than many commentators allow. It contains, for example, one of Prokofiev’s best lyrical melodies in its first movement and finale. The waltz-like scherzo is wholly delightful, the slow third movement touching. Prokofiev often indulges a deliberate simplicity, and Litton takes him at his word, never for a moment lapsing into artifice or affectation.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The finale, which we get to hear twice complete, once with each of its endings, is particularly breezy and exhilarating. Through it all the Bergen Philharmonic plays gorgeously, and the SACD sonics are state-of-the-art. A wonderful release.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026320249066,"sku":"7318599921341","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3451290.jpg?v=1778286267"},{"product_id":"mendelssohn-symphonies-3-5-litton-bergen-philharmonic-240763","title":"Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 \u0026 5 \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cb\u003eIf you are looking for ‘perfect’ symphonic Mendelssohn then this disc has to come somewhere near, if not at the very top of the list.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I am new to this series of recordings, but this disc represents the last in a set of three which covers all of Mendelssohn’s symphonies, celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1809.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Both of these works have an easy-sounding and relatively sunny disposition, which hides considerable difficulties in their genesis. Started in 1829 in Scotland, the cover image for this disc is an engraving of the Grass Market in Edinburgh, one of the places Mendelssohn stayed during his trip through what was then considered a romantic wilderness suitable for artistic reflection. The symphony was only completed by 1842 however; some 12 years after the Reformation symphony. The reason for its lower opus number is that Mendelssohn was dissatisfied with the latter work, and refused to allow its publication during his lifetime. As has been stated already, the lightness of touch which has made Mendelssohn such a refreshingly attractive voice among composers of this period is very much in evidence with these symphonies, and Andrew Litton gets excellent results from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e We have heard a few ‘period’ recordings of these pieces in recent years, and a trend towards smaller orchestral footprints from bands such as the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in their Schumann symphonic cycle with Thomas Dausgaard. This recording from BIS does not fall into these categories by any means. This is not to say that Litton’s approach is anything less than supple and idiomatically appropriate, and I know of several quarters which will welcome the warmly expressive strings in the playing here. Vibrato is also a quality in the woodwind, but my hat goes off to all of the Bergen players for impeccable intonation, and to the flute and other woodwinds for their expressive and thankfully non wide-and-wobbly vibrato. The weight of voicing is also very accurately placed at all times, and a superlatively good balance provides both detail and an overall orchestral texture in the tutti sections. This transparency of texture is an inherent quality in Mendelssohn’s orchestral writing, but I also have the feeling that we might owe a debt of gratitude to the kind of clarity obtained by Roger Norrington for his early 1990s recordings on Virgin Classics with the London Classical Players. In this way, Litton’s readings of these pieces fall somewhere between Norrington’s lithe cleanliness and Claudio Abbado’s more emotionally communicative performances captured through the London Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon. Yes, Litton is clarity, dynamism and expressively warm playing personified, but he does tend to enhance the classical origins and early romantic context of these pieces. He draws superb results from the Bergen orchestra and brings out all of the rugged Beethovenian character in the Reformation symphony, but does steer an uncontroversial path which while wonderful for repeated listening and reference, may not have you in palpitations of excitement on first hearing.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I’ve read dismissive remarks on these performances as ‘middle of the road’, but extremes of interpretative license are not what we are likely to be looking for in Mendelssohn. He has his pious moments, and high octane passion and emotional hubris are not really ‘hot’ elements in this music, at least not to today’s jaundiced ears. There are some intriguing forward-looking moments as well. Listen to those calm string passages between 2:22 and 3:05 in the first movement of the Symphony No.5: Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question? Not far off, and to my mind such spine-tingling moments lift this recording above the run-of-the-mill. Add the sheer quality of the playing into the mix, and we have a winning combination. The SACD qualities of the recording are a nice enhancement, as usual opening out the aural picture and giving a real sense of location and involvement. Still attempting to put my finger on some marginal reservations, I suppose it might come down to these performances being very much ‘studio’ in nature. Looking at the booklet, I don’t get the feeling that the impassioned photo of Andrew Litton in full action on the back is taken from these sessions or this music. One has a sense that the players might respond with just that extra ‘edge’ with a live audience rather than just the familiar if marvellous acoustic of the Bergen Philharmonic’s home concert hall, but this might as well just be my imagination looking for weaknesses which aren’t really there at all. Conductors and record producers just can’t win can they? Anything other than highly polished performances and we reviewers start moaning about blemishes; and the closer things come to perfection the more we’re likely to hit on a lack of that last nth of emotional content and excitement. Fear not in this case however: if you are looking for ‘perfect’ symphonic Mendelssohn then this disc has to come somewhere near, if not at the very top of the list.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ------------------------------\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ctitle\u003e3362430.az_MENDELSSOHN_Symphonies_3_Scottish.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eMENDELSSOHN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eSymphonies: No. 3, “\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eScottish”; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eNo. 5, “\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eReformation” \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Andrew Litton, cond; Bergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e BIS 1604 (SACD: 70:15) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eI did not find Andrew Litton’s traversal of the “Lobegesang” symphony as convincing as I had hoped, so when this arrived in the mail I was full of concern. Mendelssohn’s works deserve the full-frontal SACD treatment, and Litton I had hoped was the man to do it, but the “Lobgesang” foretold that a successful complete series this was not to be. However, surprise of surprises, this new installment turns out to be all I had hoped for and more. The sound, to get that out of the way, is stunning, as are the performances by the Bergen players. They leave nothing to be desired. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eBut this is well-tread ground and needs groundbreaking readings to make a dent in almost anyone’s pantheon. Mendelssohn never really liked the “Reformation” Symphony, and to tell you the truth, I understand why. The thing is a hodgepodge of overblown Protestant sentimentality, uses the Dresden “Amen” in a way that is most artificial, and Luther’s well-worn “Mighty Fortress” easily degenerates into something pompous and bloated. Structurally this is one of the composer’s weakest works, and it takes a conductor with a great deal of sympathetic understanding to glue all the parts together. There are some exciting things here, and Mendelssohn’s symphonic skill is obvious, but his materials can grate when in the wrong hands. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eBernard Haitink is a conductor who understands this and was able to turn in a remarkably fluent performance on Philips years ago; it remains my favorite, at least did until a few weeks ago when I first heard this Litton. Everything is as right in this reading as it can be, and Litton presents the populist music in a manner that refuses to dwell on it as if it \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eis\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e populist music. The results are wonderful, and this one races to the top of the list. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe “Scottish” is Mendelssohn’s last and greatest symphony, though there have been very few really outstanding performances of the piece on record. Haitink coupled his “Reformation” with this work, and it is very well done. Leonard Bernstein knew his way around the work, though his sonics are a bit thin, and Christoph von Dohnányi also turned in a very fine reading on Telarc with his Clevelanders. Peter Maag has owned the piece for ages in my opinion, his also rather thin-sounding recording on Decca holding the fort until this Litton came along. Maag’s reading still reigns—his Decca is a classic. But this one is also extremely close to Maag’s, and the sound is simply not comparable in any way to the aged Decca. Litton’s grandeur and joyous verve in this work guarantees a place in the one-to-choose top five list, and BIS is to be congratulated for signing him and the Bergen folks to record this. Easily and somewhat urgently recommended. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Steven E. Ritter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026337779946,"sku":"7318599916040","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632950.jpg?v=1778333890"},{"product_id":"holst-the-planets-elgar-enigma-variations-litton-240319","title":"Holst: The Planets - Elgar: Enigma Variations \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is striking that two of the true classics in English orchestral music were composed within the short space of some fifteen years around the turn of the previous century. Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations have charmed as well as fascinated listeners since the first performance in 1899. In 14 remarkably diverse variations Elgar demonstrates his compositional mastery while creating miniature portraits of his closest friends, as well as of his wife and himself. By turns gentle, idyllic, tempestuous and boisterous, the pieces – which often run seamlessly into each other – nevertheless make up a coherent whole, like a group portrait taken during a country weekend. As for the enigma of the title, Elgar – who loved puzzles – maintained that another melody ‘went with’ the theme, and musicologists have searched for the answer ever since, without success. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1916 Gustav Holst completed another set of musical character sketches – his suite The Planets, in seven movements. These have little to do with astronomy and even less with the Roman deities whose names they carry. Holst was rather inspired by astrology and the suite actually concerns human character as influenced by the planets. The concept – like that of Elgar's variations – provides for a variety of moods and expressions, and in his score Holst took full advantage of these possibilities. To achieve this he made use of a large orchestra including much percussion, two harps, celesta, organ, two sets of timpani. He also included parts for certain unusual instruments such as bass flute, bass oboe and tenor tuba, and – in the final movement – a female chorus. Performing the programme in the warm acoustics of Bergen's Grieg Hall, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton give it their all in this sonic spectacular.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEstablished collectors will probably have multiple performances of these works in their collection. They may not have them coupled together, however, and that is a bonus, especially for those lucky youngsters coming new to these works and for whom this disc is the perfect choice. Superbly recorded and with an excellent insert note by Philip Borg-Wheeler, it carries a most convincing performance of The Planets and a revelatory one of the ‘Enigma’ Variations. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e– MusicWeb International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026346004714,"sku":"7318599920689","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3679464-2408975.jpg?v=1778280015"},{"product_id":"scriabin-medtner-piano-concertos-sudbin-litton-71192","title":"Scriabin, Medtner: Piano Concertos \/ Sudbin, Litton","description":"These are superb performances of two underestimated concertos… [T]his is unquestionably an engaging account, Sudbin's glistening and expressive virtuosity matched by Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic's idiomatic playing… Even more revelatory is their performance of Medtner's Third… [Sudbin] seems alert to its every note and creates a compelling journey.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Yevgeny Sudbin has already demonstrated his great affinity with the music of the composers united here: in 2007, his Scriabin solo recital (BIS-1568) garnered universal acclaim – ‘the most well-chosen, brilliantly played single-disc selection of Scriabin's piano music currently available’ wrote ClassicsToday.com – and his recordings of Nikolai Medtner’s first and second piano concertos (BIS-1588 and BIS-1728) were likewise widely admired, with the first disc receiving a Gramophone Award nomination and the second being dubbed an ‘Essential Recording’ in BBC Music Magazine. For the present disc, Sudbin has written his own liner notes, stating with conviction his opinion that both concertos are ‘absolute masterworks – unjustly underperformed and constantly underappreciated’. He goes on to make a fascinating comparison of the two ‘radically different’ works, composed by near contemporaries, but 45 years apart: Scriabin wrote his one piano concerto in 1896 at the age of 24, while Medtner began his Third Concerto in 1940, at a ripe 60. As Sudbin points out, it would be natural to expect the later concerto to be more ‘modern’, especially given the radical advances that took place during this period. Nothing could be further from the truth, however: ever the visionary, the young Scriabin wrote a concerto which may appear relatively conventional compared to his later works, but still sounds more experimental than Medtner’s Third. With great empathy for, and insights into each composer, Yevgeny Sudbin takes on the great challenges – musical as well as technical – posed by their two works, with the eminent support of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which under chief conductor Andrew Litton has repeatedly proven itself in Russian repertoire by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026360815850,"sku":"7318599920887","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2839305.jpg?v=1778304178"},{"product_id":"grieg-peer-gynt-suites-etc-ruud-bergen-62683","title":"Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites, etc \/ Ruud, Bergen PO","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026394566890,"sku":"7318599915913","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1633146.jpg?v=1778333885"},{"product_id":"grieg-orchestral-works-vol-1-sacd-240745","title":"Grieg: Orchestral Works Vol 1 [sacd]","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe programme on this first disc in the cycle includes both old favourites - the piano concerto - and less known works. (The Symphony was actually left unperformed for more than 100 years, from 1867 to 1980). Recorded with the new DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology, these interpretations are available on SACD and in Surround Sound - a first for this the most recorded (?) of piano concertos. The presence of the piano and the weight of the orchestra as well as the sense of spaciousness are truly extraordinary. One gains entirely new insights into just how the piano soloist - Noriko Ogawa - sculpts those famous melodies; and just how dazzlingly spectacular her finger work is in the rapid runs!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026395353322,"sku":"7318599911915","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632953.jpg?v=1778341035"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-5-litton-bergen-190730","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No 5 \/ Litton, Bergen","description":"I discovered with Sakari Oramo’s Nielsen symphonies that writing off an entire cycle based on just one instalment is very unwise. To ensure I don’t do that again I’ve elected to review Andrew Litton’s Prokofiev Fifth, even though I found his Sixth rather disappointing. The Bergen Phil are a fine band, as their work with Andrew Davis, Edward Gardner and Juanjo Mena so amply demonstrates; not only that, Chandos and Hyperion seem to get better results in the Grieg Hall than BIS have managed thus far.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Then there’s the stiff competition; Neeme Järvi’s much-celebrated cycle for Chandos springs to mind, as does Dmitri Kitaienko’s for Phoenix Edition. Sakari Oramo’s Ondine Fifth and Sixth mustn’t be overlooked either. All offer very different views of the Fifth, Prokofiev’s great wartime symphony, and that in itself suggests the work responds well to opposing interpretations. Oramo’s is a case in point, for he taps into a vein of lyricism that others don’t always find. He also has a very transparent recording that exposes much of the score’s inner workings.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The Järvi Fifth dates from the conductor’s halcyon days with the RSNO – then the Scottish National Orchestra – which yielded particularly memorable recordings of Richard Strauss, Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Revisiting his Prokofiev Fifth after a long break I discovered the performance has all the spunk and spike that I remember, although the treble is fiercer and the big moments are rougher than I recall. I have no such qualms about his Scythian Suite – coupled with a white-hot Alexander Nevsky – which is my benchmark for the piece.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Litton’s Andante is powerful enough, but alongside Järvi and Kitaienko it takes a little while to limber up. Admittedly, this is the kind of music that lends itself to large, gruff gestures, but as Oramo’s forensic reading confirms there’s more to this score than that. For sheer excitement, though, Järvi is hard to beat; as for Kitaienko he plays the music with a a bold, deep-rooted conviction that’s impressive too. Litton isn’t quite so overt, so visceral, but I soon came to realise that's no bad thing. The recording is exceptionally vivid, although there's an occasional hardness in the treble.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Moving on, Litton’s perky Allegro marcato is nicely phrased, and he captures the score’s veers and vacillations very well indeed. Now this is more like it. The Bergen Phil are well up to the challenge and the BIS balances are much more believable than Phoenix's; while that certainly helps to soften the music’s sharpest edges it doesn't undermine the thrust and energy of Litton's reading. Oramo’s version is the most pliant and personal one here, but some may feel that robs the music of its pith and piquancy. As for Järvi he's as taut and compelling as ever in this movement, a reminder of just how good a team he and the RSNO once were.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The yearning Adagio with its inner musings and gentle tread finds Litton at his most thoughtful and communicative. There’s a pleasing lucidity and openness here that's most welcome. In short, this is a very persuasive account of this lovely, multi-faceted movement. Built on a smaller, more intimate scale Oramo’s Adagio is the most lyrical and colourful; the Ondine recording has a very strong stereo spread, and it’s closer to BIS's in terms of subtlety and tonal sophistication. Unfortunately Oramo allows the pace to flag, which is a shame as I like what he’s trying to do. Both are commendably refined, and that makes for more congenial performances than either Järvi's or Kitaienko's; frankly, the latter have a raw edge and restless angularity that can be a tad unremitting at times.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  In that rather forceful context Litton’s frisky Allegro giocoso may seem rather reticent, although it’s actually alert and keenly paced. Not only that, there's a joy, a sparkle, to this music that brisker and more declamatory performances tend to miss. I'm also extremely imprssed by the recorded sound, which really brings out the score's muances and competing timbres. Here and in the symphony as a whole Litton is nearer to the affectionate and reflective Oramo than he is to the volatile Kitaienko\/Järvi. I can live with both extremes, but it's a relief - and a pleasure - to hear Prokofiev performances that don't sound like they're being forged on a factory floor.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The Scythian Suite gets a typically febrile outing, with thumping bass and glittering treble. Järvi may have the rhythmic edge, not to mention the most spectacular recording, but Litton’s no slouch either. As with the symphony he combines slam with subtlety, and there's a mervellous sense of a tale being told. He’s aided and abetted by wide-ranging sonics and an orchestra that's in tip-top condition. Indeed, this strikes me as the very best of BIS’s Grieg Hall productions to date, and that augurs well for the rest of Litton’s Prokofiev cycle.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Despite some initial reservations I’m delighted to welcome this addition to the Prokofiev discography. These are performances that grow in stature with each hearing; in fact, not only is Litton's Scythian Suite every bit as thrilling as Järvi's, it's also the more illuminating - the most interesting - of the two.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  A terrific pairing, very well played and recorded; here’s to the next instalment.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – MusicWeb International","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026403250410,"sku":"7318599921242","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2873554.jpg?v=1778289789"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-6-litton-bergen-po-80746","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No 6 \/ Litton, Bergen PO","description":"\u003cp\u003ePremièred in January 1945, Sergei Prokofiev’s optimistic and heroic Fifth Symphony had seemed to herald the victorious end of World War Two. In stark contrast to this, his Symphony No.6, which received its first performance in 1947, is one of his deepest and most personal works. Although it was greeted with enthusiasm by the audience, the Soviet authorities were critical of the work and in 1948 a Party resolution singled it out as ‘abnormal’ and ‘repellent’. In fact, the first ideas for the symphony preceded those for the Fifth, and date from a period when the issue of the war was still uncertain. Early in 1945 the composer had suffered a collapse, from which he never completely recovered and which forced him to live the life of an invalid with almost constant headaches. In regard to the work, Prokofiev himself stated: ‘Now we are rejoicing in our great victory, but each of us has wounds that cannot be healed.’ This haunted symphony is here coupled with two works which illustrate a very different side of the composer, his gift for creating vivid musical images that can sum up a scene in a few bold strokes. These are the ever-popular suites from The Love for Three Oranges, the tragic-comical opera from 1921, and from the film score to Lieutenant Kijé, a light-hearted satire from 1934. The original film score included two songs, which form the second and fourth movements of the concert suite. Often performed in a version for solo saxophone and orchestra, these are heard in this recording in their original vocal form, performed by the Ukranian baritone Andrei Bondarenko. With acclaimed previous recordings of music by Prokofiev, as well as by Stravinsky and Rachmaninov, Andrew Litton and his Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra are a tried-and-tested team in this repertoire, and once again make the most of the enormous palette of colours and moods provided by these three scores.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026404266218,"sku":"7318599919942","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263884.jpg?v=1778315447"},{"product_id":"bruch-violin-concerto-no-1-romanze-string-195533","title":"Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1, Romanze, String Quintet \/ Gluzman, Litton, Bergen PO","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Throughout his 82-year life, Max Bruch remained true to the musical ideals of his youth, formed by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann and German folk songs. As a result, the same composer who in the 1880’s was regarded as Brahms’ equal, by the time of his death in 1920 was considered an anachronistic irrelevance. Nowadays, however, few would deny that his production includes numerous works of exquisite sonority, beautiful melodiousness and admirable formal cohesion: a glorious irrelevance indeed. His Violin Concerto No. 1 was a spectacular success from its first performance in 1868, and soon won over audiences both in Germany and abroad. In fact, it became so popular that Bruch in later years became increasingly worried about being considered a ‘one-hit wonder’. It is thus a staple of all violin soloists that Vadim Gluzman here takes on, after his recordings of the concertos by Tchaikovsky (‘without doubt one of the work's finest recordings in recent years’, BBC Music Magazine), Barber (‘one of the most beautiful and characterful recordings of this work’, klassik-heute.de) and Korngold (‘Gluzman’s playing lends the work a new vitality and cohesion’, Classica). Supported by the eminent Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and its music director Andrew Litton, Gluzman couples the work with a rarity, a violin version of the Romance in F major, Op.85, composed by Bruch for viola and orchestra almost 35 years after the violin concerto. The composer also made an arrangement for violin and piano, and it is this violin part which Gluzman performs to the original orchestral score. Closing the programme is the String Quintet in A minor in which Gluzman is joined by four eminent string players: Sandis Šteinbergs, Maxim Rysanov, Ilze Klava and Reinis Birznieks. Composed in 1918, the Quintet certainly offers no indication of being the exact contemporary of modernist works such as Stravinsky’s Histoire d’un soldat; on the other hand its almost youthful energy, dramatic instinct and playful exuberance equally belies the fact that it was composed by a man in his eightieth year.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026405970154,"sku":"7318599918525","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263812.jpg?v=1778299018"},{"product_id":"rachmaninov-symphonic-dances-isle-of-the-dead-71177","title":"Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Isle Of The Dead, The Rock \/ Litton, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\"If you want to show people how fine a conductor in the old style Litton is, this version of The Isle of the Dead will do nicely, since it offers little to distract by way of surface brilliance. There’s an attention to structure, a matter not only of the tone poem’s all-important dynamic arch, but of carefully teasing out thematic cross-references in the orchestral texture. Inner lines are clarified, but not at the expense of vitality, momentum, or expressive power. As much can be said of this version of The Rock. It is in some respects a study for The Isle of the Dead, and Litton turns in a performance every bit as detailed and authoritative.\"\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Barry Brenesal, Fanfare\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026442113258,"sku":"7318599917511","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263739.jpg?v=1778297469"},{"product_id":"delius-in-norway-davis-bergen-philharmonic-172112","title":"Delius in Norway \/ Davis, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Norway is a gorgeous country, and it’s no surprise that Delius found much of his inspiration there. The pieces on this intelligently planned program run from 1889-1917, and are programmed in roughly chronological order. They range from the charming orchestration of good friend Edvard Grieg’s Norwegian Bridal Procession to Delius’ first major works for orchestra (Paa Vidderne) and for the theatre (the incidental music to Folkeraadet), taking in a couple of orchestral songs along the way. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Paa Vidderne (On the Mountains) is a tone poem obviously of the Wagner\/Liszt school, with plenty of hefty brass scoring and way too many cymbal crashes. It does not sound particularly Delian, but curiously the earlier Sleigh Ride’s calm central section clearly foreshadows the composer to come. Few listeners are probably aware that On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is based on a Norwegian theme, but there it is, while Eventyr, which concludes the program, is a masterpiece of mood and turbulent atmosphere, sort of Delius’ answer to Sibelius’ En Saga.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  This is one of those programs in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The selections are nicely varied. Ann-Helen Moen sings the two songs quite beautifully, and Andrew Davis, who recorded some very nice Delius for Teldec back in the day, knows his way around the music. It’s also good to hear non-British orchestras taking on this repertoire. Certainly the Bergen Philharmonic sounds just fine, although curiously, in Eventyr, the second of the two shouts (literally: the plays have to shout) is quite untidy. Not important, though, especially with fine sonics and a very generous nearly eighty minutes of playing time. A very enjoyable and interesting disc.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  - ClassicsToday","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46027381309674,"sku":"095115513125","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2498397.jpg?v=1778295513"},{"product_id":"berio-orchestral-realisations-schubert-mahler-brahms-gardner-184917","title":"Berio: Orchestral Realisations - Schubert, Mahler, Brahms \/ Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eBerio had an abiding fascination with reconciling the past and the present, which can be seen in his orchestral realisations of works by Mahler and Brahms, and most notably, in Rendering (1990), his typically creative completion of unfinished symphonic sketches by Schubert. In Rendering, Berio - in his own words - sets himself the target of 'following those modern restoration criteria that aim at reviving the old colours without, however, trying to disguise the damage that time has caused, often leaving inevitable empty patches in the composition'. In the 'restoration', Schubert's sketches have been beautifully orchestrated in period style, and the 'empty patches' have been filled with music composed by Berio himself, in his own voice - thereby successfully combining the musical worlds of the early nineteenth and late twentieth centuries into one convincing whole. The Clarinet Sonata by Brahms embodies the composer's taut and concentrated compositional style. In transcribing the work, Berio felt that, when experienced in the less intimate surroundings of today's concert halls, the extreme compression of Brahms's late chamber music style was in need of some additional support, and his version, recorded here, includes a fourteen-bar orchestral introduction to the first movement, leading into Brahms's own, much shorter opening phrase, as well as five additional bars at the beginning of the second movement. Berio completed his orchestration of six early songs by Gustav Mahler in 1987, and conducted the first performance with the Toscanini Orchestra on 7 December that year,with Thomas Hampson the baritone soloist. The six songs in this orchestrated set are 'Hans und Grete', 'Phantasie', 'Scheiden und Meiden', 'Erinnerung', 'Frühlingsmorgen', and 'Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald'. The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Edward Gardner, with Roderick Williams the baritone soloist in the songs by Mahler and Michael Collins the soloist in Brahms's Clarinet Sonata.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027521851626,"sku":"095115510124","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1948700.jpg?v=1778311384"},{"product_id":"halvorsen-orchestral-works-vol-2-jarvi-bergen-243041","title":"Halvorsen: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 \/ Jarvi, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Johan Halvorsen spent most of his career writing for the theater, which is probably why his music sounds so effortless, colorful, and well, efficient. This isn't meant to be disparaging. Rather, all of these pieces get right to the point, and none outstays its welcome, not even the Second Symphony, which clocks in at a bit under half an hour. It's conservative, harmonically and formally, but the music really works--it's a pleasure from beginning to end, and wholly convincing. This performance also is the first to correct the zillion errors in the printed score that have gone a long way to preventing the work from entering the repertoire, where it surely belongs.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The other pieces are all, in one way or another, ostensibly Norwegian in sound in a manner quite similar to Grieg. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. What sane person dislikes Grieg? The Suite ancienne, to the memory of Holberg, has every bit as much charm and freshness as Grieg's Holberg Suite, while the other three pieces all feature solo violin. Marianne Thorsen plays splendidly, while Neeme Järvi leads his Bergen forces in performances that are graceful, vibrant, and in the Suite and the Symphony, the last word in impetuosity and excitement. With terrific sound, if you don't know this music, you're missing something special.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027556225258,"sku":"095115161425","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1745550.jpg?v=1778288968"},{"product_id":"johan-svendsen-orchestra-works-vol-3-jarvi-65559","title":"Johan Svendsen: Orchestra Works, Vol. 3 \/ Jarvi, Thorsen, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eSVENDSEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eNorwegian Artists’ Carnival, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eOp. 14. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eViolin Concerto in A, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eOp. 6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eTwo Icelandic Melodies. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eSymphony No. 1 in D, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eOp. 4 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Neeme Järvi, cond; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eMarianne Thorsen (vn); Bergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e CHANDOS 10766 (74:10) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is Volume 3 in a series of discs devoted to the orchestral works of a composer who, it’s believed, composed no more than 33 works with opus numbers, of which approximately 21 are orchestral scores, if you count the cantatas for chorus and orchestra. If you don’t count them, then the four works included on this latest installment, added to the 10 included on Volume 1 (see \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 35:5), plus the four included on Volume 2 (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 36:4), should wrap up this survey, but with Neeme Järvi you never know. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe famous anecdote of the volatile relationship between Svendsen and his American wife ending with her tossing her husband’s manuscript of a Third Symphony into the fire is probably fictional, but it makes for colorful reading. Sketches, however, for what was probably on its way to becoming another symphony were expanded and orchestrated by Norwegian composer Bjørn Morten Christophersen and premiered by the Bergen Philharmonic as recently as 2011. Perhaps in a follow-up album, Järvi will give us Christophersen’s speculative score. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMeanwhile, what we have on the present disc are Svendsen’s First Symphony and a very ambitious Violin Concerto, plus the shorter programmatic pieces, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNorwegian Artist’s Carnival\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eTwo Icelandic Melodies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Svendsen is what I would characterize as a Scandinavian generalist. Like his close contemporaries, Grieg and Danish composer C. F. E. Horneman, Svendsen was yet another product of the Leipzig Conservatory, studying violin with Ferdinand David (of Mendelssohn Violin Concerto fame) and composition with Carl Reinecke. But Svendsen’s works that bear national or folkloristic titles, like \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNorwegian Artist’s Carnival\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, don’t sound Norwegian the way Grieg’s music does. In fact, in both style and content, there’s little difference between the boisterous, celebratory, dance-like character of the symphony and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eCarnival\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; and listening to the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eTwo Icelandic Melodies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, I’m not sure you would know if you were in Iceland or Finland—there’s a hint of Sibelius in the air. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe violin concerto betrays Svendsen’s training as a violinist under David in many places, but it’s not likely to find a niche among the great romantic concertos, firstly because it’s not really much of a virtuoso vehicle, and secondly, because the composer was so symphonically oriented in his approach that, as pointed out by the above Christopherson, who authored the album note, the work is more of a symphony with violin obbligato than it is a concerto, modeled along the lines of Berlioz’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eHarold in Italy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. It has, however, been recorded before, not that terribly long ago by Lars Bjørnkjær for Danacord, reviewed in 31:6, a disc I’m afraid I don’t have, but also by Arve Tellefsen with the Oslo Philharmonic on a 1990s Norsk Kulturrads Forlag (NKF) CD, which I do have. Though Tellefsen is every bit Marianne Thorsen’s match on the current Chandos release, unfortunately the NKF recording is a bit dull and recessed sounding. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith the exception of the Romance for Violin and Orchestra, the one work which has probably kept Svendsen from slipping below the horizon with the late-setting summer Scandinavian sun, all of the works on this third volume of his orchestral output are pleasant and attractive, and in the capable hands of Neeme Järvi, the Bergen Philharmonic, violinist Marianne Thorsen, and Chandos’s engineers, beautifully played and recorded; but—ah, the inevitable “but”—the musical nourishment Svendsen affords is probably not life-sustaining. Still, if you’re an obsessive collector, as I suspect many of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s readers are, and you acquired Volumes 1 and 2 of this Svendsen survey, this third is obligatory. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Jerry Dubins\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027624284394,"sku":"095115176627","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2165924.jpg?v=1778289848"},{"product_id":"tchaikovsky-swan-lake-jarvi-bergen-70563","title":"Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake \/ Jarvi, Bergen","description":"\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eSwan Lake \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Neeme Järvi, cond; James Ehnes (vn); Bergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e CHANDOS 5124(2) (2 SACDs: 154:41) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eAs has been noted in previous reviews of recordings of Tchaikovsky’s “complete” \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, there may well be as many different versions of the score as there have been productions of it. The problem is that \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is both the earliest (1875–1876) and the longest of the composer’s three great ballets, and it has had so many cooks adding their own ingredients, removing others, and generally revising the recipe that no one can say for sure what made up the original soufflé. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe generally known and accepted facts are these: The ballet, with original choreography by Julius Reisinger, was staged for the first time in February, 1877 by the Bolshoi Ballet at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater. It was not well received; audience and critics alike felt it was too long and convoluted, its music too heavy, and its libretto, adapted from a story by a German author, an affront to Russian sensibilities. And thus began the tinkering and tampering. By the time the work was revived in 1895 by the Imperial Ballet at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater there was new choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, along with major musical revisions to the score by the Imperial Theater’s conductor and composer, Riccardo Drigo. It should be noted that by the time of the 1895 revival, Tchaikovsky was dead and had no hand in the new performing version. Tchaikovsky and Drigo had worked together previously, but according to accounts, they didn’t agree on much of anything and their relationship was strained. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe upshot of all this is that there is no definitive \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e. It was no longer a ballet by one composer, but rather a group effort; and you know the saying about a camel being a horse designed by a committee. It’s important to bear this in mind when considering the various recordings of \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e that claim to be complete, for the drastic differences in timings cannot be explained by mere tempo differences alone. There have to be other factors involved, such as omission of some movements, cuts to others, and\/or reliance on differing versions\/editions. Let’s look at the timings of several well-known recordings, sorted in order by duration. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003ctable\u003e   \u003ctbody\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eConductor \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eOrchestra \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLabel \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eTiming \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Valery Gergiev \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSt. Petersburg Mariinsky O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eDecca \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e106.59 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Antál Dorati \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMinneapolis SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMercury \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e131:41 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Felix Slatkin \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSt. Louis SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRCA \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e141:00 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Mikhail Pletnev \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRussian National O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eOndine \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e142.52 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Dmitri Yablonsky \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRussian State SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eNaxos \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e148:38 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Michael Tilson Thomas \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLondon SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSony \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e149:05 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Mark Ermler \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRoyal Opera House O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eConifer \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153.03 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e André Previn \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLondon SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eEMI \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153:02 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Charles Dutoit \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMontréal SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eDecca \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153:56 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Neeme Järvi \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eBergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eChandos \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e154:41 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Wolfgang Sawallisch \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003ePhiladelphia O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eEMI \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e158:45 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e   \u003c\/tbody\u003e  \u003c\/table\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eRight off the bat, I need to offer a disclaimer: My personal familiarity with the above-listed recordings is limited to only four of them—Gergiev, Pletnev, Yablonsky, and now this new one by Järvi. Of the four, Gergiev’s version is the worst in terms of the hatchet job it does on the score. Movements are reordered—for example, the act I Waltz has been moved to act III and its ending abridged—and it’s full of egregious cuts—some 40 minutes of music are sacrificed. Gergiev’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is presumptively based on the Mariinsky performing version; i.e., the above-mentioned Drigo edition prepared for the 1895 St. Petersburg revival. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eLooking at Pletnev’s timing of 142:52 vs. Yablonsky’s 148:58 and Järvi’s 154:41, it seems pretty obvious that that while tempo differences over the course of two and a half hours could account for the difference of approximately six minutes between Pletnev and Yablonsky and, in turn, between Yablonsky and Järvi, they’re unlikely to be the cause of the approximately 12-minute difference between Pletnev and Järvi. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eUpon closer examination of all three recordings, what I found was that Yablonsky and Järvi both include two often dropped numbers from act III, the \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e that was written after the fact specifically for Anna Sobeshchanskaya, and the “Danse Russe,” added specifically for Pelageya Karpakova. Pletnev omits these two additions, as do a number of others. Whether they should be included or not is a rather complex question. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBallerinas of the day were not much different from their opera diva counterparts in terms of their egos. They had no shame when it came to demanding custom cadenzas to show off their voices or, in the case of danseuses, their fancy footwork and frilly tutus. The story surrounding Sobeshchanskaya and her \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is especially messy and borders on scandal. Originally picked to dance the lead role of Odette (the Swan) for the 1877 premiere, Sobeshchanskaya was ignominiously dropped from the cast at the last minute when a high-placed government official with whom she’d had a dalliance accused her of having taken expensive jewelry from him and then pawned it when she married a fellow danseur. On the spur of the moment, she was replaced by Pelageya Karpakova. Sobeshchanskaya survived the indignity and went on to dance the title role when the ballet was staged again a month later with no greater success than at its premiere. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBut the intrigue didn’t end there. The ballerina made no bones about the fact that she hated both the choreography and the music, and so off she went to St. Petersburg, where she engaged Petipa to choreograph a new \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e for her that would replace the third act’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGrand pas.\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e Petipa complied and choreographed the new number to music, not by Tchaikovsky, but by Ludwig Minkus, the Imperial Ballet’s composer in residence. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eWhen news of this change reached Tchaikovsky, he was miffed; his ego was probably bigger than Sobeshchanskaya’s. How dare she?! He was the composer, and he alone should take credit (or discredit) for the music. After some smoothing of his ruffled feathers, Tchaikovsky agreed to compose the music himself for Petipa’s new \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, but there was a problem. Tchaikovsky’s new music didn’t synch up with Petipa’s choreography, and Sobeshchanskaya, now back in Moscow, wasn’t about to travel back to St. Petersburg to go through the whole exercise again. She didn’t seem to care much one way or the other about the music, but she was adamant about keeping Petipa’s choreographed number. How exactly Tchaikovsky was prevailed upon to discard his newly composed music and essentially start over, this time following the outlines and rhythmic steps of Minkus’s music is not explained, but that’s what Tchaikovsky did. So, this particular episode apparently had a satisfactory ending for all involved, except, I suspect, for Minkus who surely must have felt put out. The original \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGrand pas\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e with music by Tchaikovsky was replaced by Sobeshchanskaya’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e with music first by Minkus and then by Tchaikovsky. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBased on the foregoing, it would seem that there is every reason to include this number in complete performances of the ballet, yet many conductors, Pletnev among them, don’t. The situation regarding the “Danse Russe” (Russian Dance) is much simpler and appears to be the reverse; it’s one of deletion rather than addition. It was composed for and included in the original 1877 version of the score danced by Karpakova, the premiere’s last-minute substitute for Sobeshchanskaya. The number was then removed for subsequent performances in which Sobeshchanskaya took over the role, for reasons one can easily guess. If two competing sopranos could bitch-slap each other on stage during a production of a Handel opera, there was no telling what professional jealousy might provoke between two rival ballerinas. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThis describes only some of the butchery that turned Tchaikovsky’s finely feathered swan into a plucked chicken. It’s well to remember, however, that \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e was not only the composer’s first completed ballet, it was really his first major stage undertaking to survive the ravages of time, even if not entirely intact. He was working on his opera \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eEugene Onegin\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e at the same time, his first opera to achieve success; and though there had been earlier operatic efforts—\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Voyevoda, Undina, The Oprichnik\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eVakula the Smith\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e—they were either destroyed by the composer, recycled, later revised, or didn’t stir much interest at the time. Thus, at 37, Tchaikovsky’s greatest works still lay ahead of him, and he had yet to achieve the self-confidence that fame would bring him to be able to just say no to those who would mess with his music. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eNeeme Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e follows his \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, reviewed in 36:5. I would expect to see a \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNutcracker\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e in the near future, perhaps timed to coincide with Christmas (I’m writing this in November 2013). My only objection to Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e was his somewhat business-like approach, which struck me as missing some of the music’s fairy magic. But the Bergen Philharmonic’s polished playing, James Ehnes’s ravishing violin solos, and Chandos’s thrilling multi-channel SACD recording offered much allure. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eOn relistening to that release, and in listening to this present one, in which Järvi, Ehnes, the Bergen orchestra, and Chandos repeat their earlier accomplishment, it occurred to me that my criticism of Järvi wasn’t entirely fair. There are two ways to conduct a ballet performance for a strictly audio recording. You can approach it as a concert work, in which case you will tend to emphasize the melodic, harmonic, and structural elements of the score, or you can approach it as a suite of dances, in which case you will emphasize the music’s rhythmic and terpsichorean aspects. Järvi falls into the former camp, and there’s nothing wrong in that, as long as he’s not directing a live production of the actual ballet, in which tempo, pacing, and phrasing need to be molded more flexibly to accommodate the movements of the dancers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eI can’t say absolutely that this is the most authoritatively complete \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e on record, though in taking up the original 1877 score and including additional material supplied by Tchaikovsky himself for subsequent performances, Järvi gives us a version that’s certainly more complete than are a number of others. What I can say is that of the four recordings of the score with which I’m familiar, Järvi’s would now be my first choice, and taking all other factors into account—superb playing by the Bergen Philharmonic, James Ehnes’s beguiling solo violin contributions, and a killer recording—I’d extrapolate from this that Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is now the one to have. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Jerry Dubins \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46027688345834,"sku":"095115512425","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2335567_e22b3dd0-d09c-4353-b9d4-12abc4d375fd.jpg?v=1778298881"},{"product_id":"halvorsen-orchestral-works-vol-4-jarvi-bergen-87118","title":"Halvorsen: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4 \/ Jarvi, Bergen Philharmonic","description":"This is the fourth and final volume of colourful and highly appealing orchestral works by the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Based on the Passacaille (Chaconne) from the Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in G minor by Handel, Halvorsen’s Passacaglia is a virtuosic duo for solo violin and viola, later made world famous by artists such as Leopold Auer and Jascha Heifetz. It starts as a simple arrangement of Handel’s original score, but after the presentation of the theme and the first three variations it gradually differs more and more, until it finally frees itself entirely from the original and becomes pure ‘Halvorsen’.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Halvorsen wrote extensively for the stage, and his lifelong fascination with ‘exotic’ elements in music is evident in the ‘Dance Scene’ from the incidental music to Knut Hamsun’s Queen Tamara, a historical play set in the Caucasus. In contrast, the Symphonic Intermezzo from the music to Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s The King is presented in the form of a tone poem, its language strongly influenced by the musical universe of Liszt and Wagner.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Also on this disc is Halvorsen’s orchestration of Grieg’s piano piece Norwegian Bridal Procession. Other orchestral versions exist, among others by Frederick Delius, but in Grieg’s eyes only a native Norwegian could portray rural Norway in music without becoming too romantic or picturesque. Halvorsen’s lush, but non-idealising orchestration proved an immediate success, and at concerts and in the theatre over the next twenty-six years Halvorsen conducted the work at least 140 times.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e He considered his Norwegian Fairy Tale Pictures to be one of his best works. The suite is vividly programmatic, drawn from music that he had written for a children’s comedy: violins portray the fairy tale hero, the flute plays the part of the abducted princess, while the villainous troll is represented by a motif in the bass.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027688411370,"sku":"095115171028","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1973770.jpg?v=1778311428"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/bergen-philharmonic-orchestra.oembed?page=2","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}