In light of the "chill-out" trend of the 1990s, major labels released many albums of slow, meditative pieces to appeal to listeners who wanted relaxing or reflective background music. Deutsche Grammophon's vaults are full of exceptional recordings of classical orchestral music, and the performances by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are prominent in the label's catalog. The slow selections on Karajan: Adagio are in most cases drawn from larger compositions, though these movements are frequently anthologized as if they were free-standing works. Indeed, many have come to think of the Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 as a separate piece in its own right, largely because of its evocative use in the film Death in Venice. Furthermore, the famous Canon by Johann Pachelbel is seldom played with its original companion piece, the Gigue in D major, let alone in its original version for three violins and continuo; it most often appears in an arrangement for strings.

On MDG, the Meccore String Quartet has recorded Edvard Grieg’s three works for string quartet, of which only String Quartet No. 1 in G minor is in complete form. Grieg’s music is often seen as defined by a small body of works: Piano Concerto, Peer Gynt suites, Holberg Suite, Lyric Pieces for solo piano including the notable Wedding Day at Troldhaugen. Nevertheless, there are a number of gems to discover, including the Cello Sonata, the three Violin Sonatas and the G minor String Quartet performed here.

The Italian word malinconia was very commonly used in the nineteenth century as a title for melancholy pieces. Yet the idea of malinconia covered a myriad of romantic notions, so that simply translating it as "melancholy" does not do it justice. It subsumes many other emotional states as well - all kinds of dejection, gloom, unknown sadness, desperation, depression and even frustration. Each language has evolved its own terms, and interpretations of the word itself also differ from region to region. Malinconia in sunny Italy or Spain is quite different from melancholy in Norway and in Finland, where the winters are harsh and long. The Nordic variant is expressed here in various musical examples; words alone are anyway inadequate.

Beecham had an exquisite ear for detail, and his Peer Gynt has more fantasy — more subtlety, too — than anyone else's: Ase s Death and Anitra 's Dance are simply magical. So is the Symphonic Dance, and if In Autumn and the variations occasionally seem a litde thin musically, Beecham makes amends with keenness of attack and eloquent phrasing. The orchestra is superb and the transfers (which give us the variations in stereo for the first time), excellent.

Few pianists in our lifetime demonstrate the kind of depth and musicality Perahia has done in the last 3 decades. His virtuosity and expressiveness are 'classical' in every sense - reserved and stylistically sophisticated. The Grieg Concerto is just superb and this recording shows Perahia's more passionate side of his personality. Highly recommended.

In 1877 Edvard Grieg informed his publisher that he had added “a free, second piano to several of Mozart’s sonatas.” As he later emphasised, his modernization “did not change a single one of Mozart’s notes”, but constituted “a way of showing admiration for an old master.” Grieg also intended the pieces for a duo of student at teacher; here the performers are a pianist of exceptional distinction and her legendary mentor: Elisabeth Leonskaja and Sviatoslav Richter.