This is the SACD of
a well-received addition to the symphonic
Grieg discography on Naxos. It pairs
Gimse, adept in the repertoire, with
Bjarte Engeset and the Royal Scottish
National Orchestra playing on their
home turf in Glasgow. The repertoire
may well be overly familiar but the
programme is still a satisfying one
and makes for entertaining and imaginative
listening.
In Autumn has
requisite freshness and amplitude and
the folk music element is well brought
out. The Symphonic Dances are boldly
conceived and coloured - with the winds
and brass prominent in the skirl and
swirl of the Allegro moderato e marcato.
The limpid solo in the grazioso second
movement is lovingly taken up by the
strings but it’s perhaps most in the
Allegro giocoso that we find the orchestra
on crispest, brightest form; sure toned
brass with tight trumpets, on the button
trombones, al the contours etched with
alacrity and nuance; maybe not the most
sheerly affectionate reading but a finely
determined one.
Which brings us to
the Concerto. Nothing odd about this,
just an extremely well played and buoyant
performance, middle of the road in tempi
and interpretation, though certainly
not one that languishes unnecessarily.
The first movement cadenza is good and
Gimse is sufficiently sweet to add warmth
to the slow movement but not too much
sugar. The finale is buoyed up with
idyll at its heart well projected and
equally well prepared. Crisp accenting
pushes this along, the lower brass braying
triumphantly along the way. Fine playing
all round.
I listened to the SACD
on an ordinary set up though it’s available
in three formats – including CD and
DVD-Audio.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by John
Phillips and Paul
Shoemaker
Håvard Gimse (piano) 
