Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Neeme Jaarvi - Johan Halvorsen: Orchestral Works, Vol.2 (2010)

This new Chandos CD of the music of the neglected Romantic-era Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen is an absolute delight from first note to last. Until recently, when music-lovers were asked: "How many Norwegian works can you name?" they typically replied: "Grieg's Piano Concerto and Halvorsen's 'Entry of the Boyars'." Thanks to ever more enterprising CD companies and European radio stations, who provide streaming classical music via cable, music-lovers worldwide can now enjoy increased performances of hitherto inaccessible music by neglected composers, including such Norwegians as Johan Halvorsen, Ole Olsen, Gerhard Schjelderup, Christian Sinding, and Johan Svendsen.
This recording of Halvorsen's Symphony inevitably invites contrast with a competitive offering by the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra on the Simax label. Overall, the Chandos version is appreciably faster (27:57 vs. 32:42), and the tempi of the two outer movements are appreciably brisker. Since I have no score, I cannot say which is the more authentic. To my ear, both are excellently played and recorded. Of the other works on this CD, all are available elsewhere in other versions, but no other offering contains all five works on the same CD. The Bergen Symphony Orchestra plays splendidly under Neeme Järvi's expert conductorship. The excellent program notes are in English, French, and German. Highly recommended!