Music Web International: outstanding.
The first surround-sound version of Grieg's justly popular Symphonic Dances. This highly atmospheric music, which so easily removes the listener to the lonely beauty of the Norwegian fjords, gains especially from the striking realism of a musically balanced surround-sound recording. Further enticement is added by the inclusion of both the Norwegian Dances and the Lyric Suite on this disc. The performances are by Grieg's "own" orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. (Grieg actually came from Bergen and, after many years abroad, he made this second city of Norway his home and bequeathed a large sum of money to the musical life of the city.) The conductor is Ole Kristian Ruud - Norwegian maestro with an international reputation, partly earned through his much-acclaimed recordings of the music by Geirr Tveitt, also on BIS.
"These renditions certainly stand with the best, and they come to us either in excellent stereo or in SACD multichannel formats." Classics Today.com
"Ce disque se range aux côtés de celui de Neville Marriner aux sommets de la discographie." Répertoire 09/2003
"Ruud gets some highly responsive playing from his fine orchestra." International Record Review September 2003
L'enregistrement au format SACD est une splendide réussite." Classica 10/2003
