BaL 22.02.20 - Grieg: Holberg Suite

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30
Building a Library
Oliver Condy chooses his favourite recording of Grieg's Holberg Suite.
The Holberg Suite is one of Grieg's most popular pieces; a suite of five movements based on 18th-century dance forms, written in 1884 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Dano-Norwegian humanist playwright Ludvig Holberg.

Available recordings:-

Original piano version:-

Katya Apekisheva
Håkon Austbø
Rudolf Ganz
Petras Geniushas
Maria Grinberg
Peter Jablonksi *
Christian Ihle Hadland
Cyprien Katsaris
Eva Knardahl
Isabel Mourao
Yuri Mouravlev
Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Christine Salgado *
Einar Steen-Nokleberg
Alexander Vaulin
Annette Weisbrod *
Inger Wikström *
Gerard Willems


Version for string orchestra:-

WDR Sinfonieorchester, Eivind Aadland (SACD)]
Utah Chamber Symphony, Maurice de Abravanel
Oslo Camerata, Stephan Barratt-Due
Moscow Soloists, Yuri Bashmet *
National Philharmonic Orchestra, Willi Boskovsky
Wiener Philharmoniker, Willi Boskovsky
Geir Botnen
English String Orchestra, William Boughton
Ohio Philharmonic Orchestra, Domenico Boyagian
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Dirk Brosse *
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown *
Budapest Strings *
Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset
Ensemble Allegria
Ensemble Esperanza (SACD)
Filharmonins Kammarensemble Stockholm
Les Musiciens de l'Art Nouveau, Olivier de France
Scottish Baroque Ensemble, Leonard Friedman
Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Ganz
Moscow Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra "Moscovia", Eduard Grach *
European New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung *
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons *
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Juha Kangas *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Dresdner Philharmonie, Herbert Kegel *
Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dmitri Kitayenko
English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sebastian Lang-Lessing *
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner (Hanssler) *
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Karl Münchinger
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Mito Chamber Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Slovak Philharmonic, Libor Pešek *
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ole Kristian Ruud (SACD)
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Shunske Sato
Studio-Orchester Beromünster, Hermann Scherchen *
Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz *
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Saulius Sondeckis *
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Pinchas Steinberg *
Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra, Jan Stigmer
Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Richard Studt
Staatskapelle Berlin, Otmar Suitner
Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Vilmos Tatrai *
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (SACD)
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Terje Tønnesen
Northern Sinfonia, Paul Tortelier *
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Bohdan Warchal *
Berlin Radio Music Orchestra, Jörg-Peter Weigle *
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, David Zinman


( * = download only)

[verismissimo]

BAL 22 Feb 2020 Greig Holberg Suite

For this is it. Janacek Cunning Little Vixen following Saturday.

Do I own one - on LP or CD? Not very evidently. Should I ?

[LMcD]

For this is it. Janacek Cunning Little Vixen following Saturday.

Do I own one - on LP or CD? Not very evidently. Should I ?

I don't have a recording of this piece, or of the one by Grieg bearing the same name.

[Pulcinella]

Poor Alpie, probably scrambling to produce a list (no doubt he'll merge threads accordingly).

One of my 1966 NUJMB O-level GCSE set works, but I seem to have only one version on the shelves: in a Naxos Scandinavian String Music compilation (Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Richard Studt).

Oh, I've got the Mackerras Vixen, too.

[CallMePaul]

I don't have a recording of this piece, or of the one by Grieg bearing the same name.

I guess that the Holberg Suite is often a piece picked up by accident, as a coupling to something more substantial. I don't have a recording of it - I only have the Piano Concerto and a selection of Lyric Pieces by Grieg in my collection. I will listen with interest even though the work is not a high priority for me.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Poor Alpie, probably scrambling to produce a list (no doubt he'll merge threads accordingly).

Correct in all respects.

[verismissimo]

Correct in all respects.

And with the poor man's name spelled correctly, I guess.

[LeMartinPecheur]

And with the poor man's name spelled correctly, I guess.

Ah, but isn't Greig the historically-informed spelling, and therefore to be preferred on these boards?

Wiki: The family name, originally spelled Greig, is associated with the ScottishClann Ghriogair (Clan Gregor).

[Petrushka]

I have a couple of versions: BPO/Karajan and National PO/Boskovsky, both in respective boxes. Not a work I'd choose to play often if at all and not sure why it's a candidate for the BaL treatment.

[Wolfram]

I have a couple of versions: BPO/Karajan and National PO/Boskovsky, both in respective boxes. Not a work I'd choose to play often if at all and not sure why it's a candidate for the BaL treatment.

I agree. Norwegian Camber Orchestra won last time it was done on BaL - IIRC. Their recording is excellent. Certainly not in need of another one. Not sure why this has come round again on BaL, especially now as there is new one due out later in the year from Ozawa.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Threads merged with list in OP.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This work has always been a special one for me. My primary school music teacher sometimes played the Gavotte on the piano as we walked out of assembly. So I was delighted when the suite was an O-level set work. I was confused when my piano teacher placed the piano score in front of me one day, and asked who had arranged it. She assured me this was the original version and that the strings version was a later adaptation.
I had a budget LP of the work in the ‘60s (Saga or Fidelity?), but now I don’t have a single recording of the work. So BaL may well be helpful.

[cloughie]

This work has always been a special one for me. My primary school music teacher sometimes played the Gavotte on the piano as we walked out of assembly. So I was delighted when the suite was an O-level set work. I was confused when my piano teacher placed the piano score in front of me one day, and asked who had arranged it. She assured me this was the original version and that the strings version was a later adaptation.
I had a budget LP of the work in the ‘60s (Saga or Fidelity?), but now I don’t have a single recording of the work. So BaL may well be helpful.

https://www.discogs.com/Grieg-Tchaikovsky-The-Hamburg-Pro-Musica-conducted-by-Erich-Kleiner-Holberg-Suite-Opus-40-Serenade-F/release/1643596

I remember that as been a nice lively performance.



There was also at the time:

https://www.discogs.com/Dvorak-GriegSinfonia-Of-London-Conducted-By-Alexander-Faris-Serenade-For-String-Orchestra-Op-22-Noct/release/7313422

Both good bargains enjoyed on a small record player as a teenager!

I can’t remember what I upgraded the Holberg up to at the time but the Tchaikovsky/Dvorak were Ace of Diamonds IPO/Solti/Kubelik wonderful!

Why is it I remember this stuff, but cat commit to memory song lyrics I’ve got to sing this weekend?

[gurnemanz]

I guess that the Holberg Suite is often a piece picked up by accident, as a coupling to something more substantial.

I have acquired three recordings of the orchestral version and one on the piano - all "by accident" via box sets and all very enjoyable:

Yuri Bashmet/Moscow Soloists I have this box. There's also a later version from Onyx.

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/ Ole Kristian Ruud on this excellent set from BIS but also available separately.

Academy of St. Martin/Marriner -also on a box

Piano - Håkon Austbø in a 7CD set on Brilliant must be a top recommendation.

[jayne lee wilson]

A musical realisation of.... that unachievable, almost perfect, happiness, contentment.... something we knew and felt, way back, and spend the rest of our lives looking for....often in vain.....

A kind of lost innocence. But we can have it, preciously, for a few minutes, when we hear the Holberg Suite....

I think I love it most when I hear it unexpectedly, on a radio somewhere....