Here we have a slap
up-to-date product, as technically advanced
as is currently possible, and at a bargain
price. Whilst the majors are charging
£15 - £16 for a SACD compact disc, Naxos
is supplying these at half this price.
There also does not seem to be any limitation
on quality (of sound or of performance).
The disc under review is the new recording
of Grieg’s ever-popular Piano Concerto,
coupled this time with more orchestral
Grieg, which makes quite a pleasant
concert. This is better than the usual
coupling which is the Schumann Piano
Concerto.
This is a mainstream
Naxos disc, one which is not part of
any series, and presents three formats
on one disc – normal CD sound, Direct
Stream Digital 5.0 multichannel surround
sound mastered in DSD, and 2 channel
stereo mastered in DSD. These formats,
plus DVD Audio give us the same problem
as we had in the days of quadraphony.
Different formats each of which requiring
different hardware, cause normal music
lovers a severe headache. Quadraphony
came to grief because of stupidity on
behalf of the industry and SACD/DVD/CD
Audio is probably going to come to a
similar result for the same reasons.
My local audio dealer recommended a
normal CD player rather than a move
to SACD when I was upgrading recently
because in his opinion, the aural improvements
offered by the new format were not distinct
enough to warrant the expense of another
amplifier and two additional speakers.
I suspect that there must be more than
a grain of truth in this statement.
[I think some other reviewers may not
agree with this - LM]
The recording quality
on the present disc is superb, being
clear, undistorted, in a believable
acoustic, but so are many of Naxos’s
current offerings in the normal format.
Still, making these new formats available
at little less than mid-price might
sway the record buyer in favour of these
formats.
The disc opens with
an excellent performance of the Concert
Overture "In Autumn" with
the Scottish musicians playing for all
they are worth and sounding as though
they have the Northern idiom under their
belts.
They are then joined
by Havard Gimse at the piano. He gives
a very straightforward performance of
the concerto, not messing it up with
mushy sentiment or flashy brilliance
as so many other soloists manage. I
find this approach very satisfying,
and to hear it treated as a serious
piece of music is very satisfying. The
sleeve notes describe Havard Gimse as
one of Scandinavia’s leading international
pianists, and he wears this epithet
with aplomb. His career has been primarily
in Scandinavia, but recently has expanded
into the international field. With performances
like this his future is sure.
The orchestra completes
the programme with a lovely performance
of Grieg’s Symphonic Dances. The four
movements are in quite a different vein
than other sets of Symphonic Dances
such as those by Bernstein, Hindemith
and Rachmaninov. These are pure Grieg
and the Northern atmosphere comes to
the fore in this superb performance.
I had never expected the Royal Scottish
National orchestra to absorb the atmosphere
so well, but I remember their discs
in Naxos’s American Music Series where
they similarly absorbed the idiom.
This ability is in
part down to the qualities of the conductor,
and Bjarte Engeset certainly seems to
be able to make his Scottish band play
this music for all it is worth. When
there are many bland offerings around
these days, it pleases me to be able
to welcome this disc with all enthusiasm.
John Phillips
see also review
by Paul Shoemaker of the
DVD Audio version
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Bjarte Engeset.
NAXOS
6.110060 [71’47"] 