Classical Music

Classical Music

Sibelius' early Quartet in B-flat Op. 4 (1890) is quite lovely and well worth hearing. It contains some striking anticipations of the composer we know and love, particularly in the harmonies of its slow movement and in its imaginative use of string texture (pizzicato especially). It also shows something of that instinctive feeling for movement that the mature composer developed to such a phenomenal degree. The Tempera Quartet performs both this work and the later Voces Intimae with notable liveliness and evident enthusiasm. In the latter piece, the clean ensemble and vigorous rhythmic profiling prevent the music from sounding dour, particularly in the central slow movement (from which the quartet's nickname derives). However, on occasion--in fortes--the tone of the violins turns a bit crude as the players dig into the notes with excessive vehemence.

The opening piece on the disc, a 12-minute Adagio, features a few attractive but not really memorable ideas. It ends somewhat ambiguously (nothing new when it comes to Sibelius), here suggestive of more to follow--but what that might have been we will probably never know. A tiny fragment of the original ending of Voces Intimae only a few seconds long fulfills BIS's intention to record every scrap of music that Sibelius wrote; but the disc concludes sonorously with the Andante festivo, taken at a good clip and sounding less solemn than usual in this reduced format. As suggested with respect to the major works, the Tempera Quartet handles all of this music expertly, and BIS's sonics are the most consistently excellent in the business. Do try the B-flat quartet: its quality will surprise you.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The first chapter in the BIS Sibelius Edition contained some of the Finnish master's most celebrated works, his Tone Poems. In the ten volumes that have been released after that, we have presented various less known aspects of Sibelius: the composer of chamber works and piano music, the miniaturist, even as the author of an opera. With the present instalment, the 12th and penultimate, we return to a genre for which he is particularly celebrated, namely the symphonic. The Seven Symphonies are undisputed treasures of 20th-century music which have fascinated great conductors and international audiences alike. They are here presented in performances by Osmo Vänskä, described in American Record Guide as 'the Sibelius interpreter de nos jours', and the eminent Lahti Symphony Orchestra, whose principal conductor he was for 20 years. The team's recordings of the symphony cycle has been described as 'towering head and shoulders over the competition' in the French magazine Répertoire, and on the website Classical Source as being 'almost universally recognised as the best of the digital age'. As these recordings now are given pride of place in the Sibelius Edition, they are complemented by alternative versions and fragments which provide a fascinating background to the final versions. The most substantial of these is the original version of Symphony No.5, available only in this recording, which upon its original release in 1996 not only received a Gramophone Award for its technical qualities but also was described by the same magazine's reviewer as 'one of the most important and above all interesting records to have appeared for many years.' Also unique for BIS are the recordings of the remaining supplementary material, made under the supervision of the violinist and conductor Jaakko Kuusisto and released here for the first time. Besides a number of short fragments which illustrate the decision-making process of the composer's creative mind in detail, it also includes preliminary versions of three complete movements: the scherzos from Symphonies Nos 1 and 4, and the second movement of Symphony No.3. In the accompanying booklet (numbering 128 pages), Sibelius expert Andrew Barnett guides us through this central chapter in Sibelius' oeuvre - an occasion not to be missed!

Classical Music

Classical Music

These hybrid Super Audio CDs play on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Kamu offers an easy sense of movement; intense, quiet dynamics and clarity in perfect equilibrium with atmosphere. There's plenty of excitement too: the scherzo of the Second is truly vivacissimo. Symphonies Three, Seven, and above all Six are just perfect, with all the naturalness I want in these elusive masterpieces.

– BBC Music Magazine

Classical Music

Classical Music