Entry March of the Boyars *Andante Religioso Mascarade Suite La Mélancolie (arr. Halvorsen) Symphony No 1
Halvorsen: Orchestral Works, Volume 1
Neeme Jarvi conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in the launch of a revealing orchestral series; the works of Johan Halvorsen.
Volume one of this four volume series, features a mixture of well-known works with rarely recorded repertoire. The Entry March of the Boyars is recurrently in the concert repertoire and is programmed with the only available recordings of Andante Religioso, Mascarade Suite and La Melancholie, along with the rarely recorded Symphony No.1. Halvorsen’s music is one of the best kept secrets of Norway; he was not only an accomplished violinist and conductor, (he was in fact conductor of Bergen Philharmonic in 1885-1886) he was also among the most prominent Norwegian composers in the generation following Edvard Grieg. His compositions develop the national Romantic tradition of his friends Grieg and Svendsen, but his was a distinctive style marked by brilliant orchestration inspired by the French Romantic composers.
This extremely attractive music makes a welcome addition to the catalogue and reflects particular Bergen Philharmonic strengths, the warm tonal richness of the orchestra’s strings, and individual excellence of its principal players among them.
The Bergen Philharmonic made its BBC Proms debut in 2007. Critical plaudits and public acclaim underlined the quality of an ensemble with long roots and a bright future.
Reviews
"...a very enjoyable disc..." - David J Barker
"This disc is a winner, and demonstrates that Halvorsen deserves much better than to be known only as the composer of a good march." - Arthur Baker
MusicWeb-International - February 2011
"Halvorsen’s orchestral works played by the orchestra he directed in the 1890’s.” “…The performances throughout are top-notch and Chandos’s sound is of demonstration quality.”
“At long last, Norway’s best-kept secret has been revealed to the world!” Peter Marchbank
International Record Review - April 2010
*****
Riccardo Cassani
Musica - May 2010
"...Neeme Järvi and the Bergen Philharmonic are in top form with Chandos sonics to match. This is Volume 1 in what promises to be a fascinating overview of this up until now neglected composer from Norway."
Jean-Yves Duperron
ClassicalMusic Sentinel.com
“…This is characteristically Nordic folk-based music, light of manner and texture, and is deftly performed by the Bergen Philharmonic under Neeme Jarvi…”
.jpg "Halvorsen: Orchestral Works Vols. 1 to 4")
