Herbert Blomstedt’s Decca recording of the complete Peer Gynt score remains my reference recording for getting the most music onto a single disc, and this predecessor with the always-interesting-to-hear Staatskapelle Dresden has many of the same qualities of naturalness and unobtrusive musicality, but not quite as much energy and gusto as the later version (partly a function of more reticent brass and percussion in the big numbers). Blomstedt here includes all of the major musical numbers, with appropriate choral and vocal parts, but none of the melodramas or action scenes that feature so prominently in the full score. The Leipzig Radio Chorus, then as now, is wonderful, and the soloists are all good, but not quite the best. Nor are the sonics, which are overly bright on top and seriously lacking richness in the bass. Decent as this is, it no longer remains competitive, even in this two-fer packaging.
Similarly, John Odgon’s traversal of the Piano Concerto with Paavo Berglund and the New Philharmonia is vital and masculine, but in terms of sheer pianism it’s not quite on par with Andsnes (Virgin) or the amazing live Michelangeli (BBC), limited though the latter is sonically. In fact, the best thing in this set is Siv Wennberg’s account of the song cycle Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), with Geoffrey Parsons an excellent accompanist. Fischer-Dieskau’s German-language selection of 23 songs from Opp. 2, 4, 5, 18, 21, 26, 39, 48, and 59 holds less appeal for me, but all of this may be moot for most listeners, as no texts or translations are included in the accompanying booklet. When an entire disc consists of songs in more than one language, not having the words is a crime, and it makes this release unworthy of being called a bargain. Despite some good things, then, this winds up being less than the sum of its parts.
