Product Details

• Actors: n, a
• Directors: n, a
• Format: HiFi Sound, NTSC, Surround Sound
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Surround Records
• DVD Release Date: April 25, 2008
• Run Time: 72 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0016DER2W
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,134 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

In his own words, Grieg aspired to paint Norwegian nature, Norwegian folk-life, Norwegian history and Norwegian folk-poetry in music. In Autumn sees Grieg take inspiration from the forces of nature, both life-giving and destructive, whether it be from the farmers harvest celebrations or the ensuing death and decay, while the Symphonic dances make extensive use of Norwegian folk-melodies. Indeed it has often been said that the famous Piano Concerto has an element of untamed wildness in its opening timpani roll followed by the cascading chimes of the piano. Whatever its inspiration, this cornerstone of the piano repertoire remains one of the most enduringly-popular of all concertos on account of its profusion of inspired melodies, noble eloquence and poetic vitality.

Album works

Grieg, Edvard : In Autumn for Piano 4 hands, Op. 11
Conductor: Bjarte Engeset
Ensemble: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1866

Grieg, Edvard : Concerto for Piano in A minor, Op. 16
Performer: Håvard Gimse (Piano)
Conductor: Bjarte Engeset
Ensemble: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1868/1907

Grieg, Edvard : Symphonic Dances (4), Op. 64
Conductor: Bjarte Engeset
Ensemble: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1896-1897

Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, from 13th to 15th May 2003 at 24bit High Definition Audio. --Surround Records

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars SACD 5.0 pretending to be DTS MA 7.1, July 5, 2008

By 

Classico (Southern California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grieg - Piano Concerto / Symphonic Dances / In Autumn - Acoustic Reality Experience [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I was awaiting my FIRST BluRay Classical title with great anticipation. I was rewarded with GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT.

This presentation fails to deliver on almost all counts. The one redeeming virtue is that the performance at least is credible. But one expects a DTS HD Master Audio (lossless) recording to sparkle. It does not. The soundstage is flat and one dimensional. In a good recording you can hear the SPACE between the instruments it is readily discernable. Here everything sounds crushed together. The sound generally stays between the speakers and is TOTALLY lacking in any spatial depth, either side to side or front to back. What is done to fool some into believing there is dimensionality is that a great deal of unnatural electronic reverb has been added.

Here are some troubling facts about this recording that are listed in light hard to read small print on the disc & back label. This is a Naxos recording (CNAX 6110060 SA.) done in the SACD format in 5.0--NOT 7.1. It literally sounds like the producers of this BluRay took the Naxos recording and shoved it through a DTS HD MA processor, slapped a BluRay label on it and marketed this as a real lossless recording. The whole project is done on the cheap--and it looks like it AND sounds like it.

For those who are used to quality recordings please note:
There are NO program or liner notes--you have have no idea WHO these artists are and if you would like to know a little something about the selections--too bad.

There is NO menu when playing the disc. There is NO program listing since there is no menu. To me this is indicative of the haphazard, get-it-out as cheap as you can way this BluRay is presented. I will not buy another product from Surround Records, and I was so looking forward to hearing REAL lossless from my BluRay.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Performed and Recorded, February 2, 2010

By 

David Bower (Houston, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grieg - Piano Concerto / Symphonic Dances / In Autumn - Acoustic Reality Experience [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This recording is excellent, it has some of the best recorded piano sound that I have heard. The orchestra also performs well and is recorded well. I too have several of the recordings in this series and use them to demonstrate my surround system.

I agree with one commentator that the quality varies somewhat from recording to recording but heartily agree that this is one of the best in the series.

A word of caution, however, this series does require specialized equipment for playback. Blu-ray is essential and either a player that decodes the new uncompressed audio formats or a receiver/preamp that will. One had best do one's homework to confirm that playback is possible on your system.

I noticed in one review a comparison with the quality of the SACD recordings; I have an extensive collection of SACD and admit they are very good, especially the ones recorded by Telarc; I do believe that the sound quality on the DTS HD Master Audio is better.

What I think is happening here is the proverbial learning curve; the early SACD recordings do not sound as good as the newest ones. Likewise I believe the quality of the Blu-ray music recording will improve as the recording engineers learn to take full advantage of the technology's potential.

In the meantime this recording is surely a winner; I really bought it for the Piano Concerto but have found the other selections, all new to me, to be well done and enjoyable.

The recording has almost no information on the performers. Here is some information on them:

Håvard Gimse was born in 1966 at Kongsvinger, Norway and has established himself as one of Scandinavia's leading international pianists. After gaining his Diploma at the Berlin Hochschule der Künste in 1995, he continued his studies with Jiri Hlinka in Norway.

Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset gained his Diploma, (with the highest possible score), at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 1989, where he studied with professor Jorma Panula. In 1991 he was chosen as a member of the Tanglewood Music Center Seminar of conductors where the teachers included Seiji Ozawa, Gustav Meier, Simon Rattle, Marek Janowski and others.

Formed in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is one of Europe's leading orchestras. The Orchestra performs across Scotland and internationally and has a very busy schedule of recordings, education and community programmes. The RSNO is a charity and is one of Scotland's National Peforming Companies, supported by the Scottish Government.

As you can see both the pianist and the conductor seem well positioned to perform Grieg and they do turn in notable performances. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra gives a thoroughly professional performance as well.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Disappointment, May 6, 2008

By 

Geoffrey J. Waldau (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grieg - Piano Concerto / Symphonic Dances / In Autumn - Acoustic Reality Experience [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This dvd is a stunning disappointment. A great concept, it sets photographs of lakes, rivers, mountains and forests to the music of Grieg. The photographer travels to all the right places, composes all the right camera shots, but then uses the wrong camera, producing motionless still shots. HD media needs motion -- slow panning, the rustling of trees, rippling of water. Instead I got still-life photos, with distant snow on trees flickering like cheap Christmas tree lights. The photographer needs to watch Sunrise Earth, buy a real HD camera, and go re-shoot the same scenes. The result would be stunning success.