Returning to the catalogue, at budget price for the first time, is the delicious recording by Marriner and the Academy of Scandinavian works. The ‘Holberg Suite’ was recorded in 1970 whereas the rest of the program was taped seven years later. All of the recordings were made in the stunning Kingsway Hall acoustic.
EDVARD GRIEG: Holberg Suite, Op. 40
EDVARD GRIEG: Elegiac melodies, Op. 34
JEAN SIBELIUS: Valse Triste, Op. 44
CARL NIELSEN: Little Suite, Op. 1
DAG WIRÉN: Serenade, Op. 11
JEAN SIBELIUS: Rakastava, Op. 14
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Neville Marriner
‘This programme of Scandinavian pieces, slight though the items may be, is all popular in the most attractive way; and shows the particular qualities of both Sir Neville and his Academy at their best – the playing always alert, yet with feeling in the more deeply expressed pieces like Grieg’s Elegiac Melodies … The sound of the CD is absolutely first rate and the disc is highly recommended … Playing and recording, in fact, could hardly be better.’ Gramophone
‘Immaculately played … the performances are excellent … this lovely disc deserves a home in any collection’ ClassicsToday.com
‘This is a very special recording, impossible to recommend too strongly. Snap it up and enjoy!’ MusicWeb