Peer Gynt (Suites & Incidental Music)
Edvard Grieg
Op. 23
Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic
Peer Gynt Suites 1982 Digital version. Just the Suites.Top recording for just the Suites. Brings all their best qualities: luscious sound, great drama. Solveig's Song sounds gorgeous. Great coupling with Sibelius and Holberg Suite.
Apple Music — Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 and 2 on an album with Sibelius’s Pelléas et Mélisande.Sir Thomas Beecham / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Incidental music selections, including vocal numbers 1956 Incidental music (more than suites), includes vocal music. Very good stereo.Classic recording of the incidental music. Beecham brings all his charm and is so good at bringing out the colors. Solveig's Song is sung by a lovely soprano.
Apple Music — Ten incidental music selections, including vocal numbers.Øivin Fjeldstad / London Symphony Orchestra
Instrumental incidental music selections 1958 Incidental music (all instrumental, no vocals). Not as well recorded.Another version of the incidental music. Not as spectacular sounding, but you get a native soulfulness and idiomatic charm. Very recommendable.
Apple Music — Ten instrumental Peer Gynt selections within a Grieg collection.Nikolai Golovanov / All Russia Radio Orchestra
late 1940s Fairly rough sounding.Super intense, super dramatic, very virtuosic. May sound un-idiomatic, but it's so exciting it has to be mentioned. All-out, red-blooded Peer Gynt.
YouTube — Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 only.