Antonín Dvořák; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Edvard Grieg - Serenades for Strings; Holberg Suite (Neville Marriner)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Edvard Grieg

1. Dvořák - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22: 1. Moderato
2. Dvořák - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22: 2. Tempo di valse
3. Dvořák - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22: 3. Scherzo (Vivace)
4. Dvořák - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22: 4. Larghetto
5. Dvořák - Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22: 5. Finale (Allegro vivace)
6. Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48: 1. Pezzo in forma di sonatina (Andante non troppo - Allegro moderato)
7. Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48: 2. Walzer (Moderato, Tempo di valse)
8. Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48: 3. Elégie (Larghetto elegiaco)
9. Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48: 4. Finale (Tema russo) (Andante - Allegro con spirito)
10. Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40: 1. Präludium (Allegro vivace)
11. Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40: 2. Sarabande (Andante)
12. Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40: 3. Gavotte (Allegretto) - Musette (poco più mosso)
13. Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40: 4. Air (Andante religioso)
14. Grieg - Holberg Suite, Op. 40: 5. Rigaudon (Allegro con brio)

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Neville Marriner, conductor
Date: 1968 (6-9) 1970 (1-5, 10-14)
Label: Decca
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4702622

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

What's not to like? Assuming that you don't have Marriner conducting these works in any of his zillion different recordings of them (not counting reissues) across at least four different labels (Decca/Argo, Philips, EMI, and Hänssler), you can purchase this disc safely and will surely enjoy the performances. You won't find the creamy richness of, say, Karajan in the Tchaikovsky, and Marriner himself did a better (and better recorded) Holberg Suite for Hänssler, but we're talking minutiae here. What you will get is lively, shapely playing with a good deal of charm, flowing tempos, and sensitive phrasing all well remastered. So go ahead. Indulge.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Serenades-Strings-MARRINER-ACADEMY-MARTIN/dp/B00005UW4P

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. Following the nationalist example of Bedřich Smetana, After Bedřich Smetana, he was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition. Dvořák frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. He wrote nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems and more than 40 works of chamber music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (25 April/7 May 1840 – 25 October/6 November 1893) was a Russian composer who wrote some of the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression. His homosexuality considered a major factor. Tchaikovsky wrote many works that are popular with the classical music public, including his three ballets, six symphonies, Piano Concerto No. 1 and Violin Concerto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

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Edvard Grieg (15 June 1843, Bergen – 4 September 1907, Bergen) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use and development of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions put the music of Norway in the international spectrum. He is the most celebrated person from the city of Bergen, with numerous statues depicting his image, and many cultural entities named after him
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Grieg

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Neville Marriner (born 15 April 1924) is an English conductor. He was one of the most important of the early figures who spearheaded the reawakening of modern interest in Baroque and early Classical music. In the 1950s, he founded Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and his partnership with them is one of the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor. Marriner made over 600 recordings covering 2,000 different works – more than any conductor except Herbert von Karajan. He's also known for the soundtrack recording of 1984 film Amadeus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Marriner

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