Album

Among the modest repertoire for string orchestra, compositions range quickly from immensely popular (the serenades of Tchaikovsky and Dvorák) to the obscure works of Carl Nielsen, including his Little Suite for Strings, At the Bier of a Young Artist, and Bohemian-Danish Folk Tune. Somewhere in the middle of this continuum lies Grieg's Holberg Suite, a set of five movements scored for strings by the composer from his original composition for solo piano. These works of Grieg and Nielsen are the focus of this Scandinavian Classics album. Nielsen's contributions are not as innovative or intriguing as his more mature works, but are still well-scored and melodically pleasing, making it all the more surprising that they have fallen out of favor. Performing is the Copenhagen Young Strings led by Morten Ryelund Sørensen. For a youth ensemble, CYS produces a surprisingly solid performance. The sound on the whole is rich and nicely blended. Intonation is not flawless, but better polished than even some professional ensembles. Where the group does show some inexperience is in the occasional solos, such as the opening of Grieg's Two Elegiac Melodies, where the sound is a bit thin and unconfident and intonation issues become slightly more apparent. Still, for listeners unfamiliar with these works, the CYS provides an unexpectedly reasonable choice.

© Mike D. Brownell, Rovi

CD 1
Edvard Grieg Composer From Holberg’s Time ('Holberg Suite'), for string orchestra (orchestration of Op.40 for piano) Work 20:37 Copenhagen Young Strings Orchestra, Morten Ryelund Sorensen Conductor
1	1.Prelude	2:38			$0.99
2	2.Sarabande	4:30			$0.99
3	3.Gavotte	3:03			$0.99
4	4.Air	5:56			$0.99
5	5.Rigaudon	4:30			$0.99
Edvard Grieg Composer 2 Elegiac Melodies, for string orchestra, Op.34 Work 8:42 Copenhagen Young Strings Orchestra, Morten Ryelund Sorensen Conductor
6	1.The wounded heart	3:12			$0.99
7	2.Last Spring	5:30			$0.99
Carl Nielsen Composer Little Suite in A-, FS6, Op.1 Work 15:33 Copenhagen Young Strings Orchestra, Morten Ryelund Sorensen Conductor
8	1.Prelude: Andante con moto	3:34			$0.99
9	2.Intermezzo: Allegro moderato	5:03			$0.99
10	3.Finale: Andante con moto. Allegro con brio. Più mosso	6:56			$0.99
Carl Nielsen Composer Ved en ung kunstners baare, for string quartet and double bass, FS58 Work Copenhagen Young Strings Orchestra, Morten Ryelund Sorensen Conductor
11	Andante lamentoso	4:25			$0.99
Carl Nielsen Composer Bohemian-Danish Folk Tune, paraphrase for string orchestra, FS130 Work Copenhagen Young Strings Orchestra, Morten Ryelund Sorensen Conductor
12	Bohemian-Danish Folk Tune, paraphrase for string orchestra, FS130	6:59			$0.99