Grieg: Music for String Orchestra (2006)

While not the last word in elegance, these performances by the Oslo Camerata led by Stephan Barratt-Due of most but not all of Edvard Grieg's best-known string orchestra works are still quite beguiling. Their attack in the "Präludium" that opens the Holberg Suite is a little raw, and their rhythm in the "Rigaudon" that closes it is a bit rough, but their depth of tone in the Sarabande, their lightness of touch in the Gavotte, and their profundity of feeling in the Air are more than compensation enough. And so it goes: the ... Read More

While not the last word in elegance, these performances by the Oslo Camerata led by Stephan Barratt-Due of most but not all of Edvard Grieg's best-known string orchestra works are still quite beguiling. Their attack in the "Präludium" that opens the Holberg Suite is a little raw, and their rhythm in the "Rigaudon" that closes it is a bit rough, but their depth of tone in the Sarabande, their lightness of touch in the Gavotte, and their profundity of feeling in the Air are more than compensation enough. And so it goes: the Camerata's sonorities in "The Last Spring" from the Two Elegiac Melodies are not altogether in tune, but the emotions go right to the core; the ensemble in "Peasant Dance" from Two Nordic Melodies is not absolutely together, but the enthusiasm is contagious. In addition to most of the usual selections from Grieg's string orchestra works, one inclusion is gratifying -- "The Death of Åse" from the incidental music to Peer Gynt -- while one omission is disappointing -- "Evening in the... Read Less