Donald Macleod introduces a series of contrasting musical takes on Peer Gynt - from the lyrical to the industrial.

Grieg's gift for the fleeting, artful and utterly delightful musical miniature means that he's one of the most rearranged and reimagined composers in history. Instrumentalists of every shade down the years - from trombonists to accordionists, brass bands to hard rock collectives - have sought to cast Grieg's music in their own image. This week, Donald Macleod dips his toe into the vast array of arrangements of Edvard Grieg's music - introducing a selection of brilliant, often unorthodox musical creations - whilst taking us through five key works spanning the composer's career.

Amongst the myriad reworkings of Grieg's music, one piece stands out as offender-in-chief. Grieg's own reworking of his music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" into two orchestral suites ensured his fame and fortune - and a multitude of arrangements, even in his own lifetime. But more than this, and faintly surreally, one famous number, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" has more recently found a devoted following that Grieg could have never have imagined ... amongst devotees of hard rock and heavy metal. Donald Macleod explores the circumstances of Peer Gynt's composition - as well as the bizarre array of arrangements that followed. Show less