UPDATE 2025
This is a very old review and one that may not be especially accurate as it was written before the advent of the modern record shootout. Pick this one up for cheap if you like.
Our current favorite pressing of the Peer Gynt Suite is the one Fjeldstad recorded for Decca.
1959 was a phenomenal year for audiophile quality recordings – as of 2025 we’ve auditioned and reviewed more than one hundred and seventy titles, and there are undoubtedly a great many more that we’ve yet to discover.
We think there are close to 50 that belong in any audiophile record collection worthy of the name.
This is an original Mercury LP with AMAZING sound and EXTREMELY quiet vinyl! This has got that Mercury LIFE to it!
The sound may be slightly on the dry side, but all the instruments have wonderful texture and tonality.
And of course, this is music that belongs in any collection. It’s some of the greatest and most accessible classical music ever written.
Side One
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Symphonic Dances, Op. 64
Side Two
Symphonic Dances, Op. 64
Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34
Further Reading
- New to the Blog? Start here
- Collecting better sounding records
- Well recorded classical albums from the core collection available now