1. Olav Trygvason, Orchestral Songs
Olav Trygvason – Et operafragment, Foran Sydens kloster, Seks orkestersanger, Ved Rondane.
Solveig Kringlebotn, sopran, Ingebjørg Kosmo, mezzosopran, Trond Halstein Moe, baryton, Marita Sølberg, sopran, Bergen Filharmoniske Kor, Kor Vest, Voci Nobili
BIS-SACD-1531

«The Bergen Philharmonic today belongs among the best ensembles in the trade and few orchestras know their Grieg better. Ole Kristian Ruud has deeper insights in the Bergen master’s music than most conductors and the recording team has served him and his fellow musicians well … especially the big choral outbursts in the third scene of Olav Trygvason are knock-out pills»

Musicweb.international

Kunstnerisk kvalitet: 10 (av 10)
Klangkvalitet: 10 (av 10)
Totalinntrykk: 10 (av 10)
Klassik.heute

«Et storverk er fullført. …Men den delen som foreligger, overbeviser om Griegs dramatiske evner som operakomponist. Legg for eksempel merke til den rytmiske ville tempeldansen i tredje scene, hvordan musikken stiger opp mot ekstatiske høyder. Det hele blir suverent fremført av kor og orkester med Solveig Kringlebotn i rollen som kvinnen. …En merkestein i norsk musikkhistorie!»

Bergensavisen

«Det er ikke til å komme forbi at innspillinger med Griegs eget orkester inneholder en atmosfære man ikke like lett finner andre steder»

Kulturspeilet

2. Peer Gynt Suites
Peer Gynt suiter nr. 1 og 2, Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak (versjon for blåsere), Gammelnorsk romanse med variasjoner, Klokkeklang.
BIS-SACD-1591

«For those who don’t want their excellent ’complete’ Peer Gynt, Ruud and his Bergen players provide the two celebrated suites with an imaginative coupling of lesser-known pieces. As in the complete set, they offer a distinctly Norwegian Grieg, brisker, more fresh-air and sinewy than usual, and this is enhanced by the vividly spacious SACD recording»

BBC Music Magazine

«…if you want just the two canonical suites, you can’t go wrong with this excellent release. Ole Kristian Ruud knows the music about as well as anybody alive, and it goes without saying that the orchestra does too. There are some wonderful things here… Is this ‘the best’? Given the volume of available competition it’s impossible to say, but in most respects you’ll find these interpretations to be as fine as anything out there, and if you’ve been collecting this series there’s no conceivable reason to hesitate»

Classics Today

«Perfekter Orchestersound. Wieder einmal überzeugt das Philharmonische Orchester aus Bergen mit einem wunderbar weichen klang (etwa in der bezaubernden ‘Morgenstimmung’ der Ersten Suite), der auch in den dynamischen Kontrasten stets sehr kontrolliert und geform wirkt. …Ein weiterer Meilenstein in der von einigen Steinen dieser Art gepflasterten Diskographie Ole Kristian Ruuds. Liebevoller kann man Griegs Orchestermusik wohl kaum spielen»

Klassik.com

«Avec cet enregistrement miraculeux des deux Suites pour orchestre d’Edvard Grieg, d’après la pièce d’Ibsen, Peer Gynt, le chef d’orchestre Ole Kristian Ruud nous démontre une nouvelle fois son grand talent»

Opus Haute Definition

«Første gang jeg hørte om Bergenorkesterets nye syklus av Grieg-innspillinger, lurte jeg på hva vitsen var – utover å presentere musikken i topp moderne SACD-lyd for første gang. Tross alt finnes det så mye Grieg at vi ikke egentlig hadde behov for mer, eller hva? Men det musikalske resultatet har mer enn rettferdiggjort oppgaven: innspillingene har alle plassert seg i toppen i feltet – og det gjelder også denne. Ikke all musikken er like kjent som Peer Gynt-suitene, heller – og jeg mener at Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak er det aller beste Grieg har skrevet. Innspillingslyden er fantastisk – avslutningen på I Dovregubbens Hall er vilt spennende.»

Klassisk Musikkmagasin


3. Peer Gynt (dobbelt-CD)
Svein Sturla Hungnes, Marita Kvarving Sølberg, Kari Simonsen, Håkan Hagegård, Ingebjørg Kosmo, Kor Vest, etc., Ole Kristian Ruud, dirigent
BIS-SACD-1441/42

«If you want  Grieg’s complete Peer Gynt with dialogue, this is the set to own. It really does represent a new standard, musically, dramatically and technically. …High points are almost too numerous to list. …The bottom line is that this production offers an unparalleled experience of Grieg’s music in which the technology is placed entirely in the service of musical and theatrical values. …An exceptional achievement»

Classics Today

Disk of the Month, July 2005, Classics Today

«A superlative Peer Gynt. …«As for the performance itself, the Bergen Philharmonic plays this as if it is in its blood – which it is – and under Ole Kristian Ruud they come up with playing of world class standard, full of vitality and passion, and beautifully underpinning the dark, evocative nature of Grieg’s writing.»

International Record Review, October 2005

«…Ruud’s performance has the drive and sparkle which characterizes his earlier Grieg recordings, and the excellent Bergen playing. …this offers probably the most integrated experience of the work.»

BBC Music Magazine, August 2005

«At last one can gain a true impression of the impact this glorious music would originally have made in the theatre. Top-notch playing, singing and acting from all concerned and luxury presentation from BIS.»
Classic FM, September 2005

«The Bergen set is in many ways even more impressive, (compared with Suisse Romande Orchestra / Guillaume Tourniaire) most strikingly when the inflections of the Norwegian dialogue are so much more in tune with the cadences of the music. The production is vividly dramatic and very well delivered. … Musically Ruud offers some advantages.»

Gramophone Awards issue 2005

«A pair of Peers – RPO / Beecham & Bergen PO / Ruud. …it is Ole kristian Ruud and his Bergen ensemble and Guillaume Tourniaire and his ensemble who bring the most complete experience of the score yet to disc. …In Ruud health: a fine posse of Norwegian singers, including Håkan Hagegård in the title-role, make Ole Kristian Ruud’s Peer Gynt self-recommending. …A final choice will depend on whether you want to be listening to (a) what Ibsen accurately predicted would be a collaborative ‘musical drama’ …For (a) it’s really Ruud for the moment.»

The Gramophone Collection: Grieg’s music for Peer Gynt, Gramophone, November 2005

«These discs from the Bergen Philharmonic, under Ole Kristian Ruud, not only give us Grieg’s complete music but interleave it with substantial extracts from Ibsen’s play. From this we get a very real feel for how the Ibsen/Grieg Peer Gynt would work as a dramatic entity. …The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra give exemplary performances under Ole Kristian Ruud, making even the most hackneyed of movements sound new-minted. …For me, these discs provide a wonderfully refreshing view of Grieg’s music, in fine idiomatic performances. They have an essential place on my library shelves»

MusicWeb-international

«Järvi’s version, with actors and a fine cast of singers including Barbara Bonney, but with only snippets of text, serves as a tantalizing preview of the fully theatrical, nearly operatic effect that Ole Kristian Ruud achieves with a superb cast of actors, singers, and the orchestra which Grieg himself led from 1880-02. This stunning BIS recording is based on a concert version prepared by Svein Sturla Hungnes»

Fanfare

«The BIS is better recorded* - it offers a very wide spread and outstanding depth and very wide-ranged sound. In comparing the two, the BIS wins hands down, both as a performance – all of the singers are very good and are familiar with the Norwegian language – and as a recording, which definitely is wider ranged and better balanced. Everywhere there are attractive touches. For example, in ‘The Hall of the Mountain King’ the tempo begins very deliberately but gradually reaches an absolutely crashing climax. The bass is rich and resonant, and the bassoon playing is perfect»

American Record Guide

«Manchmal nimmt man eine CD in die Hand und weiss schon in diesem Moment: Das wird was!

«Eine durchwegs skandinavische Besetzung sorgt für perfektes Werkverständnis. ...Von anbeginn an wird eine nicht enden wollende Reihe musikalischer Höhepunkte präsentiert, die durch die von norwegischen Schauspielern herausragend interpretierten Dialoge strukturiert werden. Am pult des Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras steht junge Dirigent Ole Kristian Ruud, dem aufgrund seiner Einfühlsamkeit und Dramatizität in der Interpretation eigentlich die hauptverantwortung für diese gelungene Aufnahme zuzuschreiben ist.»

Klassik.com august 2005

«Strålende Peer Gynt – ett år før festen. … Engasjert. Hovedansvaret er i Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester og dirigenten Ole Kristian Ruuds hender. Topp engasjert spill og scener som vi ikke hører så ofte. …den er av et slikt kaliber at det bare er å glede seg over at et så stort apparat denne gang virkelig har slått ut i full blomst, både tekstlig og musikalsk. Dessuten har Edvard Griegs musikk tålt tidens tann med bravur.»

Aftenposten 26. august 2005

«Musikalsk lykkes orkesteret godt, slik de også har gjort det på tidligere utgivelser i Grieg-serien. Det klinger på en måte som røper stor fortrolighet med musikken, og Ole Kristian Ruud forlenger klarheten og tydeligheten ut i hele orkesterveven. …helhetsinntrykket er så godt, helt gjennomgående, til at utgivelsen – og for den saks skyld hele serien – kan anbefales…»

Dagbladet 5. juni 2005

«Ruud og hans musikere – solister og ensemble – fullender den magiske trolldommen med elektriske og innsiktsfulle fremførelser, fulle av detaljer som får en til å lytte med nye ører, selv de partiene man tror man kjenner. … Og i utlandet kommer den til å bli en åpenbaring»

Klassisk Musikkmagasin

4. Music for strings:
Holberg Suite, Two Elegiac Melodies, Two Melodies, Two Nordic Melodies, Two Lyric Pieces.
BIS-SACD-1491.

«Bergen musicians have lived with these scores since their creation and all the performances here, unfussily recorded in the rich, woody acoustic of the city’s Grieg Hall in June 2004, have a relaxed, idiomatic naturalness in their virtuosity. …Ruud’s commitment…is preferable to the let’s-not-enjoy-ourselves-too-much caution of famous Nordic competitors like Jansons and Järvi»

The Gramophone, mars 2006

«For many years my reference versions of this glorious work have been Karajan and Berlin Philharmonic, Paul Tortelier and the Northern Strings and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner. …Even in the face of such strong competition Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic prove worthy contenders»

BBC Music Magazine

«This new recording is something special. …The sound is warm and all the intricacy of Grieg’s multi-part string writing is clearly  revealed; the sound stage perspective is exemplary. …They are played with warmth and commitment; the ensemble playing is immaculate, the phrasing beautifully expressive. … Ruud realises all the grace and refinement of these exquisite little pieces written in the forms of baroque and rococo music to create a Holberg period atmosphere – yet still retaining Grieg’s essential style.» MusicWeb International.

Recording of the Month, January 2006,

MusicWeb International

«Here’s an easy call: these are stunning performances of music that you’d have to be either deaf or dead not to love. …Ruud’s version is so compelling that it simply makes you forget about any other (version). It has freshness and poetry in abundance, and he gets the strings of the Bergen Philharmonic to do exactly what so many string sections find all but impossible; achieve sharp rhythmic accuracy without compromising tone quality. …This series has ranged from good to fabulous, and there’s no question that this disc belongs firmly in the latter category»

Classics Today

«The series has garnered excellent notices world-wide, and earlier issues have won The Grieg Society’s Record of the Year Award two years running, in 2004 and 2005, as well as receiving other international accolades. …The recording quality, made in the Grieghallen, is really fine, affording an almost tangible delight for the listener in the thrilling acoustics of this outstanding venue; and the notes by Sigvald Tveit are very good.
An outstanding issue, worth every penny»

International Record Review

«…die philharmonischen Streicher aus Bergen unter Ole Kristian Ruud lassen es nicht bei der «Einspielung» der Werke und Werklein bewenden. Sie gehen mit einer hingabe zur sache, die allein deshalb die höchste Bewunderung verlangt, weil wir dort droben im Norden eine gewisse Grieg-Routine erwarten sollten, von der hier nichts, aber auch gar nichts zu spüren ist. Schon in den ersten Takten des Holberg-präludiums packen der glühende Nuancenreichtum, die raffinierte Polyphonie der Valeurs, dis kostbaren Phrasierungen und die schier perfekte  «Atemkontrolle» des Ensembles

Klassik Heute

«Det gir god anledning til å stoppe ved orkesterets kvaliteter. De kan sin Grieg, for å si det på den måten, og bærer fram en intuitivt fortrolig holdning til komponisten. Men de forfaller ikke til rutine et øyeblikk av den grunn, verken i Holberg-suiten eller i de frittstående stykkene. I så måte bekrefter orkesteret inntrykket fra tidligere utgivelser i serien, som har vært sobert og gjennomarbeidet»

Dagbladet 27. november 2005

5. Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak, Den Bergtekne
Håkan Hagegård, baryton, Gørild Mauseth, forteller
Bergen Filharmoniske Kor, Seim Songkor, Kor Vest, BIS-SACD-1391

«I can’t imagine finer interpretations than those offered by conductor Ole Kristian Ruud and a clearly energized Bergen Philharmonic. …Stunning!»

Classics Today 2004

Belønnet med «Record of the Year Award 2004» av The Grieg Society of Great Britain

«Klangwunder aus Bergen»

Klassik com, januar 2005

6. Norske danser, Symfoniske danser, Lyrisk suite
BIS-SACD-1291 (mai 2003)

«Heaven knows that the Bergen Philharmonic and Ole Kristian Ruud know the music, and the orchestra deserves special praise for fine playing by ist wind section – critical especially in the Norwegian Dances, the Lyric Suite, well, actually just about everywhere! …In short, these renditions certainly stand with the best» Classics Today 2003

«This is an excellent performance. The Bergen Philharmonic (the symphony’s first interpreters) make the most of the slow movement and relish the cut and thrust of the finale»

The Sunday Times, april 2003

Belønnet med «Record of the Year Award 2003» av The Grieg Society of Great Britain

«Med den andre utgivelsen i sin Grieg-serie på det svenske skivbolaget BIS har Bergen Filharmoniske fått den fulltrefferen orkesteret fortjener. …her er orkesteret i fullt slag. Det spruter bokstavlig talt av de digitale rillene. Med saft og krutt får vi de norske dansene som vi aldri har hørt dem før, godt fulgt av de symfoniske dansene fra slutten av Griegs liv»,

Kulturspeilet, juli 2003

7. Om høsten, Klaverkonsert i a-moll, Symfoni i c-moll.
Noriko Ogawa, klaver, BIS-SACD-1191

«All the performances on the cd are given with such zest and affection that all possible criticism is swept aside»

Gramophone 2003

«What an astonishing piece the Concerto is! However often you hear it, even in an indifferent performance, its freshness is undimmed. And Ogawa’s performance is very far from indifferent: it is sensitive and full of grace and she is well supported by Ole Kristian Ruud»

BBC Music Magazine

«The men and women of the Bergen orchestra play with sympathy and pride – and how could they not? This is Grieg’s home town band, and I can’t imagine another orchestra anywhere playing it better. Should you happen to buy this disc out of curiosity just to hear the symphony, you’ll take home a top-rank performance of the concerto into the bargain …this performance will make you fall in love with the music all over again»

 

Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester Plateselskapet BIS