REVIEW:

Osmo Vänskä recorded a superb Kullervo Symphony in Lahti–indeed, that was and remains a reference version. It featured a particularly brave, because very slow but also remarkably powerful, account of the second movement, Kullervo’s Youth. Unlike Vänskä’s other Sibelius symphony remakes in Minnesota, which are replete with annoying little mannerisms and surprisingly dead passages, this performance is excellent. It’s also virtually identical, down to the second, to the conductor’s previous effort. There’s even an authentic Finnish chorus, the YL Male Voice Choir, imported from Helsinki for the occasion. The group has performed and recorded Kullervo something like a thousand times already, so we know exactly what to expect.

Why, then, bother with this new release at all? Well, Kullervo fits on a single disc, as it did previously, but for this series of performances the Minnesota Orchestra commissioned Finnish composer Olli Kortekangas to write a “companion” to Kullervo–in this case a 25-minute piece called Migrations. It is written for the same forces as the Sibelius, setting poems inspired by Finnish immigration to Minnesota (of which there was a lot, in case you didn’t know). The English poems, by Sheila Packa, are both sensitive and moving, the use of language often lovely. Kortegangas sets four of them, separated by three orchestral interludes. You also get as an encore one of the various versions of Finlandia with (male) choir, if you care.

The problem with this release, as I see it, is twofold. First, Kortekangas shows far too much respect to Packa. These are longish poems, the settings themselves relatively brief. This means that there is a lot of talking going on, however accessible and attractive the music (and it is both); but as with so many choral pieces with lots of text to get through, the words are practically unintelligible, and so you can’t really enjoy the poetry at all as it is sung. Second, I doubt that anyone except hardcore patrons of the Minnesota Orchestra–and friends and relatives of Kortekangas–wants this set principally for Migrations. It requires a (very short) second disc. Logically, therefore, the package should have been offered at two discs for the price of one to make it at least competitive with Vänskä’s first recording of Kullervo.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius occupies an odd position straddling the fence between the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite his innovates, almost Ravellian gift for orchestration (listen to "The Dryad") his music remains, like that of his German contemporary Richard Strauss, firmly grounded in the Romantic tradition. What sets Sibelius apart, however, is the indefatigable folksiness of his music reminiscent of his Norwegian forerunner, Edvard Grieg, and largely derived from the Kalevala, the Finnish traditional Saga.

It's precisely this undefinable "Finnishness" that makes this collection of Sibelius tone poems unique: here is a Finnish orchestra in its own element. With the same unfair advantage one might concede the New York Phil in music of Gershwin, The Lahti Symphony orchestra under countryman Osmo Vänskä imbues this collection with style and culture. Sibelius's cool orchestral sonorities are met with a concise but moody warmth ideally suited to the semi-programmatic spirit of En Saga or Pohjola's Daughter. A fine exploration of this enduringly listenable composer.

David Simmons, WQXR

"Osmo Vänskä and his players excel at presenting Sibelius' gentler (and sometimes darker) side. This allows them to turn in wonderfully poetic and atmospheric performances of The Dryad and its accompanying Dance-Intermezzo, along with a truly evocative The Bard and a magnificently impressionistic account of The Oceanides (finely detailed with impressively sculpted bass lines). Vänskä's sensitivity to the subtle nuances of Sibelius' orchestration also ensures that the first half of Night Ride and Sunrise is aesthetically, rather than exasperatingly, monotonous, while the dawn sequence sounds aptly fresh and serene...I can't think of another Sibelius tone poem collection that offers a better planned or more interesting selection of pieces...unfailingly beautiful and idiomatic... -- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

Rondo of the Waves' is the title of the fifty-first volume of the BIS Sibelius recorded edition. This is a particularly engaging disc because of its brim full of splendid music while simultaneoulsy presenting a succession of previously unheard scores that will be of particular interest to anyone who enjoys the music of the great Finnish composer. The 'Waves' of the title are those of Sibelius' famous tone poem 'The Oceantides', described by one famous critic as the 'finest evocation of the sea which has ever been produced in music'. The tone poem that we know today had a long period of gestation, starting life as part of an orchestral suite and then undergoing two complete metamorphoses before evolving into the masterpiece that we know. Clearly Sibelius was fascinated with his original material and, in two preliminary versions of the tone poem he conducted some very striking experiments with it, producing music that is more extravagantly impressionistic and kaleidoscopic than anthing else he wrote. These important scores have lain forgotten since they were first produced and were performed for the first time in the autumn of last year by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä. Subsequent to their first public airing they were recorded by the same forces and are now available on disc for the first time - together with another 40 minutes worth of previously unrecorded orchestral scores by the master's hand. As well as the original materials, the disc also contains a fine performance of the final version of 'The Oceantides', lifted from last year's highly acclaimed 'Sibelius Tone Poems' (BIS CD1225)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste has been conducting the symphonies of Sibelius all over the world throughout his conducting career. Thirty-five years after his first recording of the complete cycle, Saraste returns to the symphonies of Sibelius with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra-the orchestra with which Sibelius conducted the premieres of his symphonies back in the day.

Following her recital dedicated to exiled composers (BIS-2332), Sueye Park joins forces with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Valentin Egel, to present concertante works for violin and orchestra by Karl Goldmark and Jean Sibelius. The two composers may belong to different generations and cultures, but their musical DNA is strikingly similar; both were virtuoso violinists who weathered financial and political storms, drew inspiration from Mendelssohn and Wagner, and penned masterful violin concertos. Their paths actually crossed in Vienna (1890-91), when Sibelius studied under Goldmark, and this brief but significant mentorship inspired violinist Sueye Park to pair their works on this album. At the heart of the album is Goldmark's Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 28 (1877), a sweeping, virtuosic masterpiece that marries Hungarian folk inflections with German Romanticism. Complementing this are Sibelius's exquisite shorter works: the late Suite JS 185, the lyrical Two Serious Melodies, Op. 77, and the highly expressive Humoresques, Op. 87. Together, this program celebrates two composers who were supremely at home writing for the violin-an instrument inextricably woven into the fabric of their musical identities.

LALO, SIBELIUS, RAVEL PERLMAN

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

Great news! Arkivmusic.com has gotten its "on demand" hands on the Japanese RCA Ormandy Edition, making these recordings available in North America at far saner prices. Some of these performances are outstanding, nowhere more so than here--one of the greatest Sibelius recordings ever made. Ormandy's Fourth Symphony is magnificent: gaunt, direct, and unflinching, with stunning string playing and the most intelligent approach on disc to the percussion conundrum in the finale (chimes at the "sonore" climax, glockenspiel everywhere else). Some listeners might prefer a swifter tempo in the scherzo, but this interpretation is all of a piece, taking in the work as if in one sweeping gesture, and Sibelians will understand just what that means.

The Seventh also is a perfectly paced, immaculately played performance, with none of the mannerisms in the pastoral interlude that disturb Ormandy's first recording for Sony. As for the tone poems, there is no finer performance of Oceanides available anywhere, and Pohjola's Daughter is just about as good. Ormandy could come across as a somewhat stiff and unsmiling interpreter, but not here, and particularly not in music that requires an absolutely logical, indeed mathematical approach to tempo relationships between sections. Both in terms of performance quality and programming (Sibelius at his very greatest throughout), it just doesn't get any better.

The Japanese edition apparently used original unaltered sources, meaning the tapes were not remastered in any way, and so vary widely in sound quality--from very good, as here, to virtually unlistenable (Mahler Second). So until someone goes back and redoes them from scratch--and we may have a very long wait--you will have to buy selectively. These recordings, from the late 1970s, stand among the best-sounding of the lot. A magnificent release that you won't want to miss!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Sibelius may not have written the flashiest piano music of his time, yet the stark beauty of his mature harmonic language and instinct for effective keyboard deployment (which certainly developed as he progressed) characterize each and every work on this disc. As with previous volumes in this series, pianist Håvard Gimse imbues these pieces with all the color, dynamic range, technical control, insight, and tender loving care he can muster, and there's much to savor despite this collection's anonymous-sounding titles.


In particular, the collections of Op. 75 and 85, subtitled "The Trees" and "The Flowers", are appealingly nature-inspired, and Gimse wrings every drop of poetry from their often unassuming outward appearance. And that's saying a lot, since Gimse is one of the most cultivated, musicianly pianists on the scene. Top class sonics and fine annotations further enhance my recommendation. If you've been collecting Naxos' Sibelius piano music cycle, you'll want this disc as a matter of course.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Orchestral Music - Sibelius, J. / Grieg, E. / Nielsen, C. (S

Sibelius, J.: Symphony No. 4 / Pohjola's Daughter / Finlandi

Since her 1994 sensational recording debut with Orchestral Leider/Vier Letzte Lieder and Wesendonk Lieder on Kontrapunkt label, the Danish soprano Elisabeth Meyer-Topsøe’s career has soared to the new height in the international opera scenes. This is her first recording of songs which she dedicates to HM Queen Ingrid Queen Mother who is from Sweden and is turning 80 this month. Meyer-Topsøe’s tie to Sweden is quite special through her education there and being a pupil of the Swedish legendary soprano Birgit Nilsson.The songs recorded here are with special relation to Sweden.

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.



REVIEW:

Vanska's Sibelius is all about clarity - of rhythm, of texture, of intention. It is zealously unfussy and entirely without exaggeration. But it can stop you in your tracks. One just knows that the ear-pricking clarity throughout these performances is of Vanska's and not the balance engineer's making.

The suddenness of the hush Vanska manages as we enter the "no-man's-land a few pages into the Third changes the way the air moves in the Minnesota Hall. There really isn't much to say about this performance (of the Sixth), it just feels perfectly balanced - in music as in nature. And the work's evaporating final chord is startling. As for the eleventh-hour resolution into C Major in the Seventh, it is as emphatic as it is precipitous.

– Gramophone

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Sibelius wrote very little for the cello, although some of his violin pieces allow alternative instrumentation.

Petri Sakari knows this music, obviously loves it, and paces it to perfection. Indeed, his performance of The Bard may just be the finest available, particularly in the work's latter stages and final climax. The dark timbres of the lower winds--bass clarinet and bassoon particularly--not only add immeasurably to the atmosphere that colors the opening of Pohjola's Daughter, but also help to create the deep currents of The Oceanides and overshadow the pine forests of Tapiola. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra plays with complete security, and Sakari ensures that textures and balances retain the necessary transparency without sacrificing power. Indeed, the all-important bass drum part in En Saga seldom has registered with such dynamic accuracy (though as with all of these Naxos productions, make sure to turn the volume up to enjoy the best sound).


That said, there is one big fly in this particular musical ointment. The Iceland orchestra has a comparatively small string section, and while this fact certainly contributes to the clarity noted above, it robs the climaxes of sheer heft. This is particularly true during the headlong rush to the big cymbal crash in En Saga, the huge final wave in The Oceanides, and above all the great storm music in Tapiola. To his credit, Sakari doesn't push his players beyond their natural ability. For example, in Tapiola he cleverly ensures that the storm remains a background to the ferocious eruptions in the brass and timpani, but it's still impossible not to feel the lack in those moments (such as the ensuing dissonant shriek) where a big string sound is absolutely essential.


So is this disc recommendable? Certainly it is. But if you are one of those people whose preferences in this music demand Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic strings, you might be happier elsewhere. Still, there's far too much worth hearing to dismiss this issue for that reason alone. Sakari and his players capture the music's dark colors and primal qualities as do few others, and when all is said and done they offer a quintessentially Sibelian listening experience.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

There is a surprise here. After the folksy charm of Alfvén and Grieg, the familiar strains of Sibelius, the salon sentimentality of Järnefelt, and the muscular drive of Nielsen, we meet a totally fascinating composer from Iceland in the person of Jon Lief s, who had a whole disc devoted to his extraordinary music in the last issue. Geysir, like much of Liefs's mature work, starts in darkness, and works its way up to a vast climax in an idiom consisting almost entirely of primal, organ-like, parallel fifths, before subsiding into darkness. Amidst all of this charm and frivolity, it comes as something of a shock, but it is typical of Salonen, one of our most talented young conductors, to include it. His devotion to contemporary music of all sorts makes this a collection of uncommon interest, and sets it well above the ordinary for this sort of thing. All of the performances are excellent, as is the sound. Recommended, therefore, with enthusiasm despite the inevitable duplications of repertoire.

– David Hurwitz, FANFARE

SCH?NBERG, SIBELIUS, FAURÈ: PE

Sibelius: Greatest Hits

This exhilarating album contains stunning live symphonic performances of works by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Included in this recording are his Symphony No. 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 82, Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105, and En Saga, Op. 9.

“...raw, massive, glacial, thrilling. Elder and the Halle have a strong track record in this repertoire.” - The Observer

"Julian Rachlin has a rapturously wide tonal armoury. From the very opening of the Concerto he demonstrates an imaginative reach; his sound being slender yet nectar-sweet. What is more, Maazel and the Pittsburghers catch the same kindling spirit. There is an alacrity and engagement about their playing that is not always present in the symphonies. Rachlin deserves consideration alongside Spivakovsky (Everest), Oistrakh (BMG-Melodiya) and Mullova (Philips). This is no also-ran and neither is the gentle second serenade."

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Critically acclaimed ensemble Chamber Domaine returns to Resonus with this portrait of Finland’s most prominent national composer- Jean Sibelius. Featuring a combination of both well known and lesser performed works, artistic director and conductor Thomas Kemp leads a programme of instrumental, chamber and string orchestra compositions including the suite for strings, Rakastava (The Lover), the brooding Malinconia for cello, and the fulsome Andante Festivo in celebrating the depth and versatility of this great composer. The album was recorded with spectacular sound quality, and features a full color booklet. Chamber Domaine is a trailblazing ensemble acclaimed for its virtuosity, distinctive programming and passionate advocacy of the music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Chamber Domaine is project based and has a modular lineup of outstanding instrumentalists and vocalists ranging from duos to chamber orchestra.

This disc received the 1997 Gramophone award for "Best Orchestral Recording."

These are glamorous, big-city readings, far removed from the granite-faced objectivity proffered by most recorded Sibelians. But it’s all tremendously exciting – and if Bernstein nears emotional saturation more than once, particularly in Symphonies Nos. 1 [and] 2..., the coursing adrenalin in these accounts is irresistible. The New Yorkers are on top form throughout... Despite remastering, some of the fizz and glare that goaded pre-digital CBS LP pressings still survives.

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine
reviewing these performances previously reissued as part of Sony 87329

I cannot remember having enjoyed this music more. Petri Sakari’s performance is totally unaffected, plain and full of enthusiasm; the players sound as if they are enjoying this score and communicate their pleasure.

– Gramophone, reviewing original release

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This reissue features performances of incidental music by Jean Sibelius, recorded in 1992 by Petri Sakari and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Sakari’s recordings with this orchestra during the 1990s made a significant contribution to the discography of Scandinavian music, notably of works by Grieg, Sibelius, and Madetoja.

Sibelius composed the score for King Christian II, a play by his friend Adolf Paul, in 1898 and it anticipates the richly romantic sound of the First Symphony. Here the usual suite is expanded by the inclusion of two movements from the incidental music not usually heard: the Menuetto and "The Fool’s Song."

Maurice Maeterlinck’s much-performed yet complex psychological drama Pelléas et Mélisande inspired works by Debussy, Fauré, Schoenberg, and Sibelius, whose incidental music consists mainly of interludes in a uniquely dark, subdued, and typically Nordic vein.

Altogether sweeter is the delicate and poetic score for Swanwhite, August Strindberg's "idealistic play of pure beauty." Sibelius condensed the original music into a charming concert suite of seven movements, five of which are recorded here.

SIBELIUS: SYMPHONIES NO 2 & 6