{"title":"Lahti Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003eb. 1910. Finnish orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinnish regional orchestra based in Lahti; notable for recordings on BIS label with focus on Nordic and 20th-century repertoire including Kalevi Aho and Rautavaara alongside standard repertoire.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-1-hiljaisus-violin-concerto-103824","title":"Aho: Symphony No 1; Hiljaisus: Violin Concerto \/ Gräsbeck, Vänskä, Lahti Symphony","description":"Given Sibelius’s reputation as one of the great symphonists of the last century, contemporary Finnish composers may be forgiven for feeling a little overshadowed. Fortunately for the young Aho, Rautavaara’s advice and support proved decisive in shaping this symphony, which began life as a string quartet. The work is in four movements, the mysterious opening and ascending brass figures of the Andante strongly reminiscent of Shostakovich. Indeed, this is confirmed by the noted music publisher Fennica Gehrman, in a short article on the Finnish Musical Information Centre website.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e There is no obvious programme here, but in his refreshingly unpretentious liner-notes – a welcome feature of this entire cycle – Aho does speak of ‘nightmares’ and ‘psychological crises’. Even without these pointers the Andante has a certain bleakness – desolation, even – although there’s none of the trenchancy one associates with Shostakovich in similar mood. That said the grim little waltz in the Allegretto could so easily be attributed to DSCH, not to mention the quiet but insistent tread in the lower strings.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e By contrast the Presto kicks off with an arresting moto perpetuo that drives this fugue like a musical dynamo. This movement has some of the most individual writing so far. That said the shade of Shostakovich hovers nearby, the laconic waltz tune and a splintered remnant of the opening theme bringing the symphony to an enigmatic close.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The other works on this disc – Hiljaisuus (Silence) and the Violin Concerto – date from the early 1980s. According to Aho, Hiljaisuus, a Finnish Radio commission that was to last no more than five minutes, was intended as an introduction to the recently completed Violin Concerto. It’s a strange swirl of a piece, a mix of unsettling glissandos and unearthly sonorities. Sample the short passage at 4:02 and you may be forgiven for thinking you’re listening to Ligeti.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Violin Concerto has more momentum and contrast than Hiljaisuus, although it shares the latter’s concentrated, more dissonant idiom. It isn’t the most grateful start to a violin concerto, the solo part – sensitively played by Manfred Gräsbeck – rather less prominent than one might expect. That said it would be difficult to hear it above the orchestral eruptions that punctuate the first movement. At 8:30 the soloist is given some insistent phrases that rise above muted timps, culminating in an equally restrained close.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The repeated phrases at the start of the second movement – marked Leggiero – lead into music that fluctuates between light and shade. The soloist has some rhapsodic passages all to himself before we plunge into the spectral waltz of the finale. La Valse this isn’t, but the wild, somewhat demonic element is certainly present. Gräsbeck phrases these tunes like a Mahlerian Ländler – listen to the passage beginning at 3:37 – before he is crushed by a massive orchestral climax worthy of Bartók in Miraculous Mandarin mode.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Whatever hints there may be of other sound worlds Aho has fashioned something altogether individual here, combining a range of ear-pricking sonorities with music of considerable punch and power. Nothing quite prepares one for the gentle, introspective close to this concerto which, as I have discovered, is something of an Aho trademark.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Despite its obvious influences the symphony is remarkably assured for a student work. It’s economically scored, light on its feet and direct in its appeal, the chamber-like qualities much enhanced by the airy recording. The concerto is more roughly hewn; it’s a protracted tussle between soloist and orchestra, yet it has real presence and power. All credit to the Lahti Symphony Orchestra – just 40 years old when this recording was made – who play these scores with commitment and care. An excellent entrée to Aho’s distinctive sound world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625705238762,"sku":"7318590003961","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262811.jpg?v=1778321066"},{"product_id":"christmas-wonderland-vanska-laulupuu-choir-lahti-so-167038","title":"Christmas Wonderland \/ Vänskä, Laulupuu Choir, Lahti So","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by Jean Sibelius, various composers. Ensembles: Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Laulupuu Choir Lahti. Conductor: Osmo Vänskä.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625521082602,"sku":"7318590009475","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263081.jpg?v=1778312036"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-10-syvien-vesien-juhla-7318590008560","title":"Aho: Symphony No. 10 \/ Syvien Vesien Juhla","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624146759914,"sku":"7318590008560","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263009.jpg?v=1778319449"},{"product_id":"sibelius-wood-nymph-the-7318590008157","title":"Sibelius: Wood-Nymph (The)","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711194820842,"sku":"7318590008157","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262991.jpg?v=1778320690"},{"product_id":"aho-symphonies-nos-2-and-7-7318590009369","title":"Aho: Symphonies Nos. 2 And 7","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711195214058,"sku":"7318590009369","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263076_34ad9017-4a1f-4e8b-9332-91f579729056.jpg?v=1778312054"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-8-pergamon-7318590006467","title":"Aho: Symphony No. 8 \/ Pergamon","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711196360938,"sku":"7318590006467","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262912.jpg?v=1778312072"},{"product_id":"sibelius-symphony-no-5-2-versions-vanska-83815","title":"Sibelius: Symphony No 5 (2 Versions) \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"REVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003eBBC Music (3\/98, p.59) - Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5) - This is a performance that grabs the attention from beginning to end; the Lahti brass have tremendous bite, the wind colour is in primary tones and the sweep of the piece has rarely been caught with such a natural sense of its ebb and flow...\"","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711250919658,"sku":"7318590008638","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263016.jpg?v=1778320759"},{"product_id":"sibelius-symphonies-nos-1-and-4-7318590008614","title":"Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 And 4","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711269236970,"sku":"7318590008614","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263014.jpg?v=1778297477"},{"product_id":"klami-the-cobblers-on-the-heath-etc-199658","title":"Klami: The Cobblers On The Heath, Etc \/ Vänskä, Lahti, Et Al","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711303217386,"sku":"7318590006764","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265761.jpg?v=1778296964"},{"product_id":"sibelius-symphonies-no-2-3-vanska-lahti-80689","title":"Sibelius: Symphonies No 2 \u0026 3 \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"REVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003eAmerican Record Guide (11-12\/97, p.201) - \"...Osmo Vanska leads a slow version of Symphony 2, at 44:44 almost ideally paced....The orchestra sounds rich, warm, and full-blooded....[Vanska's] phrasing is richly varied and expressive, and his grasp of large-scale architecture is most compelling...\"","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711310852330,"sku":"7318590008621","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263015.jpg?v=1778319453"},{"product_id":"kokkonen-complete-kokkonen-edition-vol-5-7318590005286","title":"Kokkonen: Complete Kokkonen Edition, Vol. 5","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711314030826,"sku":"7318590005286","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265701.jpg?v=1778295676"},{"product_id":"kokkonen-complete-kokkonen-edition-vol-3-7318590004982","title":"Kokkonen: Complete Kokkonen Edition, Vol. 3","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711323500778,"sku":"7318590004982","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265686.jpg?v=1778292300"},{"product_id":"rautavaara-bashmakov-sallinen-marttinen-flute-concert-7318590006870","title":"Rautavaara \/ Bashmakov \/ Sallinen \/ Marttinen: Flute Concert","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44937659056362,"sku":"7318590006870","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265767.jpg?v=1778297141"},{"product_id":"rautavaara-martinu-piano-concertos-no-3-lahti","title":"Rautavaara \u0026 Martinů: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 \/ Mustonen, Stasevska, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Czech Bohuslav Martinů and the Finn Einojuhani Rautavaara may not seem to have much in common, but both have adopted an attitude free of musical puritanism, constantly finding new sources of inspiration which they explored without taboos. Explaining the heterogeneity of his musical language over the years, Rautavaara stated that, as a Finn, he stands ‘between East and West, between the tundra and Europe, between Lutheran and Orthodox faith’. Premiered in 1999, his Piano Concerto No. 3 has managed to join the small group of late twentieth-century concertos that are now part of the repertoire. Its subtitle, ‘Gift of Dreams’, seems to describe perfectly the character of the music in the first two movements, before a finale that exhibits a more driven, anxious manner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEclectic, prolific and capable of composing in all genres, Bohuslav Martinů is nevertheless a composer who is difficult to categorise and the word that seems to best suit his music is ‘cosmopolitan’. The Piano Concerto No. 3 shares many features with the Romantic concerto and recalls both Brahms and Stravinsky. Reflecting the tragic events in Prague at the time of its composition, the concerto ends in a macabre dance and appears as a defiant, almost belligerent gesture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBIS \u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell17_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eis to be commended for producing an imaginatively programmed disc and giving the music brilliant performances and superb recorded sound. To round out the picture, Jean-Pascal Vachon’s program notes are helpful introductions to both pieces. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Fanfare\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell1_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eThis enticing disc pairs the third piano concertos by two masters – works separated by a half-century in composition but that are highly expressive, vibrant, even complementary. At least that’s how they sound when played so eloquently by soloist Olli Mustonen, accompanied by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under the sensitive baton of conductor Dalia Stasevska. Rautavaara’s 1999 concerto, subtitled Gift of Dreams, shimmers in an array of musical colors, and Martinů’s 1948 third, which has a foot in both Romantic and modern styles, is eclectic in the best sense. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- The Flip Side\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012586918122,"sku":"7318599925325","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4206994-3143311_11dff738-f5c5-4d13-ae88-049f394fc0bf.jpg?v=1778214369"},{"product_id":"three-sinfoniettas-slobodeniouk-lahti-symphony","title":"Three Sinfoniettas \/ Slobodeniouk, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe term sinfonietta is generally used to describe a work that is smaller in scale or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. It only came into common usage during the first half of the 20th century, which is when the three works included on this disc were in fact composed. Worth noting is also that Sergei Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten wrote their respective sinfoniettas while they were still in their teens – early attempts at multi-movement works for ensemble. Prokofiev revised his Sinfonietta twice, with the 1929 version recorded here, and went on to become one of the great symphonists of his time. Britten chose a different path, with operas forming the most important part of his legacy. Perhaps symptomatically, his Sinfonietta – his Op. 1 – was initially composed for wind quintet and string quintet, a scoring which he later expanded into the version heard on the present recording. Like Britten, Francis Poulenc was not naturally inclined towards large-scale orchestral works, and his Sinfonietta is indeed his only symphonic piece. The most recent of the works on the disc, it is in a neo-classical vein with sparkling dance rhythms as well as lyrical moments. The three works are here performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk, a team which has released several highly acclaimed albums on BIS.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePoulenc's Sinfonietta would be the composer's only work in the symphony genre, borrowing, sometimes more obviously than not, from the neo-classical stylings of Stravinsky and nearly quoting Mozart. Poulenc mostly stayed away from larger forms, finding success with his songs, chamber music, and religious works, but this Sinfonietta displays the composer's charm and gift with melodic phrasing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sinfonietta, Op. 5, by Prokofiev (heard here in its final revision from 1929, which the composer assigned as his Op. 48) is a youthful work, even in its revised form. A light and airy neo-classical work that, along with his Classical Symphony, can trace to the mature Prokofiev symphonic writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the sinfoniettas of Poulenc and Prokofiev are light and airy works, the Sinfonietta, Op. 1, by Britten has a more mature sound, even though he was only 18 when it was written. The harmonic structure of the work is influenced by the Second Viennese School through his teacher and dedicatee of the work, Frank Bridge. Originally written for wind quintet and string quintet, Britten later revised it for chamber orchestra, which is what is presented here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA thoroughly enjoyable hour of lighter music that will be nearly unknown to many listeners but should be accessible to a wide audience. BIS' engineers make good use of the Lahti Symphony's magnificent Sibelius Hall home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- AllMusic.com (Keith Finke)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell1_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003eAll in all this is a splendid release, very enjoyable from beginning to end, offering 3 wonderful pieces not often encountered. It is expertly played, conducted and recorded. Very highly recommended.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- Classical CD Review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012621553898,"sku":"7318599926018","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4118941-2868699.jpg?v=1778249710"},{"product_id":"poltera-plays-prokofiev","title":"Poltera Plays Prokofiev","description":"The three works gathered here date from Sergei Prokofiev's last years. Despite his declining health as well as the oppressive political climate, the composer could count on the support of great musicians, in particular the cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch. The relationship contributed to the writing of works for cello. The first was the Symphony-Concerto, an improved reworking of a much earlier cello concerto. As in all of Prokofiev's large-scale compositions, we find striking gestures of contrast and confrontation, disturbing juxtapositions of mood, powerful rhetoric followed by sudden passages of tender reflection.    The Sonata for Cello solo is an unfinished work: a broad and eloquent Andante is heard here in the completion by Vladimir Blok. Finally, the solemn and poetic Sonata for Cello and Piano seems like an oasis of serenity in the midst of Soviet dictatorship. In a clear form devoid of anything that might have shocked the authorities, the work belongs to Prokofiev's best works thanks to it's wealth of melody, from beginning to end. Technical challenges are not absent, as demonstrated by the huge range of cello techniques.     Performed by Christian Poltera, these three works bear witness to Prokofiev's creative vitality in the evening of his life, expressed in a simple, clear musical language linked to a new sense of vitality in the face of adversity.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012630335722,"sku":"7318599926179","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4335048-3177921.jpg?v=1778236751"},{"product_id":"leiviska-orchestral-works-vol-1-stasevka-lahti-symphony-orchestra","title":"Leiviskä: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 \/ Stasevska, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eConductor Dalia Stasevka, who received the BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Personality of the Year’ Award in 2023, and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra present three works by the Finnish composer Helvi Leiviskä, who was Finland’s first major female composer. Initially inspired by the language of late Romanticism – she mentioned Brahms as her favorite composer – Leiviskä developed an original, modern style that eschewed all schools, convinced that it was more important to tread one’s own path than to follow fashionable styles. While her output may seem small in terms of quantity, it more than makes up for it in the quality of the works, especially her symphonies, a genre she considered ‘the highest manifestation of music’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis disc presents three works: the Sinfonia Brevis, a confidently crafted work reminiscent of Sibelius; the austere, restrained, melancholy and at times very dissonant Symphony No. 2, which could be called ‘tragic’; and the Suite for orchestra No. 2, which uses material from a powerfully descriptive score originally composed for a film. This recording bears witness to the ‘Leiviskä renaissance’ that has taken place in recent years, which has contributed to the rediscovery of a neglected but important voice in Finnish music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012684009706,"sku":"7318599927015","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4262671-3075365.jpg?v=1778201901"},{"product_id":"kajanus-finnish-rhapsody-op-5-sinfonietta-op-16-ku-7318590012239","title":"Kajanus: Finnish Rhapsody, Op. 5; Sinfonietta etc. \/ Vänskä, Lahti SO","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012956573930,"sku":"7318590012239","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263324.jpg?v=1778297482"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-suites-from-the-gambler-the-tale-291882","title":"Prokofiev: Suites from the Gambler \u0026 The Tale of the Stone Flower \/ Slobodeniouk, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThroughout his career, Sergei Prokofiev wrote a large number of works for the stage – some of them highly successful, others less so. Whichever the case, Prokofiev would rarely miss the opportunity of recycling the score in one way or another – staying more or less close to the original in an orchestral suite or using it as material for a completely new work, such as the Third and Fourth symphonies (based on the ballet The Prodigal Son and the opera The Fiery Angel, respectively.) The present release combines suites created from Prokofiev’s very first opera (The Gambler, 1915–17) and his very last ballet (The Stone Flower, 1948–53). Based on a short novel by Dostoyevsky, The Gambler doesn’t have separate numbers that can easily be detached. Instead Prokofiev created ‘portraits’ of the four main characters, by re-assembling the music associated with them throughout the opera. The plot of The Tale of the Stone Flower was based on a collection of folk and fairy tales from mining communities of the Ural Mountains, and Prokofiev composed a 150-minute score in an idiom relying on folk elements and nineteenth-century musical traditions. While waiting for official permission to have the ballet performed, he planned a number of orchestral suites. On this recording, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and their principal conductor Dima Slobodeniouk splice together two of these compilations: the Wedding Suite, Op.126 and the Gypsy Fantasy, Op.127, both of which were performed before the ballet itself, in 1951. The result is preceded by the opening of the actual ballet, entitled The Mistress of the Copper Mountain. These suites frame the brief Autumnal Sketch, one of the composer’s earliest acknowledged works for orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013097541866,"sku":"7318599923017","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3797343-2555850.jpg?v=1778272629"},{"product_id":"scenes-from-the-kalevala-slobodeniouk-lahti-954174","title":"Scenes from the Kalevala \/ Slobodeniouk, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Kalevala is a compilation of mostly original folk poetry, arranged into fifty extensive runos (‘poems’) by the Finnish physician and folklorist Elias Lönnrot. Beginning with the creation of the world, it develops into a series of separate episodes which nevertheless form a rich whole, introducing epic characters such as Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen and Kullervo. The collection first appeared in 1835, with a final, extended version being published in 1849, and was soon hailed as Finland’s ‘national epos’ – a sensitive matter given that the country had been subjected to Russian rule since 1809. It came to play a major part in Finland’s national awakening and had a massive influence on Finnish art in the late 19th century, but its role in the national consciousness remains important even today. The present album, from the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Dima Slobodeniouk, brings together Kalevala-related works spanning the period between 1897 and 1943. No such collection could overlook Sibelius, who composed several works inspired by the epos. Included here is a rarity – the first recording of the 1897 version of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela, from the Lemminkäinen Suite. Finnish composers from later generations all had to find a way out from under Sibelius’s shadow – especially so when composing works based on the Kalevala. The portraits of Kullervo which bookend the disc, by Leevi Madetoja and Tauno Pylkkänen, are both compact works in contrast to Sibelius’s large-scale ‘choral symphony’ on the same theme, and when Uuno Klami used bold and primitive colors in his five-movement Kalevala Suite, he was looking towards Stravinsky rather than his countryman.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013160456426,"sku":"7318599923710","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4012965-2761067.jpg?v=1778229328"},{"product_id":"sibelius-overture-in-a-minor-etc-vanska-83580","title":"Sibelius: Overture In A Minor, Etc \/ Vanska, Lahti So","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  The music of Snöfrid, a major work for orchestra, narrator, and chorus, strongly resembles that of The Wood-Nymph. Given its date of composition (1900) it comes straight out of Sibelius' early maturity, and much as I normally detest any music for narrator and orchestra, this is powerful stuff that does not deserve to be neglected. The same holds true of the cantata Oma Maa (My Country), though the Coronation Cantata of 1896, pleasant enough, is more of an occasional work. All three are very well performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, as we have come to expect. The Jubilate Choir, while not as polished as some, has the right enthusiasm and the populist touch that the music ideally demands. It isn't a large body, and this actually seems to work to the music's advantage, allowing orchestral detail to register naturally and keeping each work from sounding over-inflated. On the other hand, there's certainly no question of timid or tepid performances. There have been other good recordings of Sibelius' works for chorus and orchestra, not least from Paavo Berglund, but these equal or surpass the competition in just about any area you care to name. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As for the orchestral works, the performances are just as fine. The Andante Festivo, not a major work in any case, sounds unusually gripping in this taut interpretation, while Rakastava (\"The Lover\") is tuneful and charming, if not much more. The real treat here is the Overture in A minor, another mature work (1902) full of arresting writing for the brass section and a central allegro that, in its pastoral freshness, could have come from the pen of no other composer. Fans of Sibelius who don't know this piece will find much to savor--and again, this is as fine a performance as it has ever received. Indeed, the entire package is unusually interesting and uniformly desirable, which is unusual given the wide-ranging variety of music on offer. Sonically this is as fine as anything BIS has given us from Lahti, which is to say that it's on par with the best the industry has to offer. If you are looking to extend your Sibelius collection beyond the best-known symphonies and tone poems, this extremely enjoyable disc should command your immediate attention. [12\/1\/2004]\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013260759274,"sku":"7318590012659","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263364.jpg?v=1778382015"},{"product_id":"the-unknown-sibelius-rarities-first-recordings-71189","title":"The Unknown Sibelius - Rarities \u0026 First Recordings","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Unknown Sibelius presents a spectrum of the music that is the least wide-spread of the Finnish master’s production, either because the pieces included belong to genres not usually associated with ‘Sibelius the symphonist’, or because they appear in versions that differ from the ones that are performed frequently all over the world. A case in point is the opening Finland Awakes, a rarely heard version of what is possibly Sibelius’ best-known piece, Finlandia, in which the famous ‘hymn’ tune is restated in full, scored with unashamed flamboyance for brass, at the end of the piece. That recording and others on this disc are culled from the complete SIBELIUS EDITION brought to a close in 2011 – but completeness is a relative concept: a ‘complete’ edition is only complete until the next mislaid manuscript or forgotten work is re-discovered. The present disc thus serves a dual purpose, as it also includes première recordings of works and fragments that have been discovered or otherwise have become available after the EDITION was brought to a close. Among these, the late orchestral fragments earned a certain celebrity in October 2011, as media across the world greeted the discovery of what was soon proclaimed to be sketches for the famed 8th Symphony – that elusive Holy Grail of all Sibelius-spotters. Dr. Timo Virtanen, the respected authority on Sibelius, has prepared the sketches for the present recording and also written a text – available on the BIS web site – discussing them and the context in which they may have been written. If the orchestral fragments generally tend towards the harmonically bold sound world that Sibelius explored in some of his very late works, the three piano pieces that have also come to recent light are earlier works which all in different ways are connected to other compositions by Sibelius.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013268623594,"sku":"7318590020654","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2266363.jpg?v=1778381552"},{"product_id":"siita-tuntee-joulun-a-finnish-christmas-7318590017470","title":"Siita Tuntee Joulun, A Finnish Christmas","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013273145578,"sku":"7318590017470","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263735.jpg?v=1778299117"},{"product_id":"sibelius-j-sibelius-edition-vol-3-voice-and-orchestr-7318591906087","title":"Sibelius, J.: Sibelius Edition, Vol.  3 - Voice And Orchestr","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013273768170,"sku":"7318591906087","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262655.jpg?v=1778321359"},{"product_id":"sibelius-edition-vol-8-orchestral-music-240520","title":"Sibelius Edition Vol 8 - Orchestral Music","description":"\u003ccenter\u003e   \u003ca href=\"listPage.jsp?list_id=1197\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eClick here to view all 13 volumes of The Sibelius Edition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e  \u003c\/center\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ctitle\u003e3332860.az_SIBELIUS_Orchestral_Works_Osmo.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eSIBELIUS\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e Orchestral Works \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e• \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eOsmo Vänskä, cond;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Neemi Järvi, cond;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Jaakko Kuusisto (vn);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e cond;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leonidas Kavakos (vn);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e5\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Dong-Suk Kang (vn);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e6\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Marko Ylönen (vc);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e7\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Lahti SO;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,3\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Gothenburg SO\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e BIS 1921 (6 CDs: 420:41) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eOverture in E.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eScène de ballet.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eKarelia:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Complete music;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Overture;\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Suite.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eImpromptu.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003ePresto.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003ePress Celebrations Music.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eMenuetto.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Coronation March.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e March of the Pori Regiment.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eOverture in a.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e Romance in C.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eCortège.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Pan and Echo.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e The Countess’s Portrait.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e Violin Concerto:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e (1903–04);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e (1905).\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e5 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eRakastava.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e2 Serenades.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2,6 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e2 Serious Melodies\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e (2 versions).\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,2,6,7\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e 6 Humoresques.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2,6\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Academic March.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e March of the Finnish Jäger Battalion.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e3 Pieces, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eop. 96.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eSuite mignonne.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Suite champêtre.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Suite caractèristique.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Morceau romantique.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e Suite for Violin and Strings.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,6 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eAndante festivo.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e Processional.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Preliminary and alternative versions\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,3,4 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eSibelius wrote a colossal amount of music for the orchestra. Already issued in BIS’s Sibelius Edition are boxes devoted to the tone poems (Vol. 1), theater music (Vol. 5, including the full scores plus the suites drawn from the composer’s incidental music), and voice and orchestra (Vol. 3); still to come, of course, is the volume of symphonies (Vol. 12, projected). That makes 21 or 22 well-filled CDs. Then there’s the present set, Vol. 8, which consists of everything else: works for violin and orchestra (about two CDs), music for patriotic pageants (one-and-a-half discs), and various occasional pieces, suites, and other works that don’t fit any of the above categories. The Sibelius quote with which annotator and project advisor, Andrew Barnett, begins his program notes could well serve as an epigram for the entire project: “I am myself a man of the orchestra. You must judge me from my orchestral works.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eMost of the contents of this set were first issued on single CDs: the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKarelia \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003emusic on BIS 915, the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePress Celebrations Music\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e on 1115, the two versions of the Violin Concerto on 500, the remaining works for violin and orchestra on 472, and various smaller works on 1265, 1445, 1485, and 1565. Items appearing here for the first time are the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKarelia Suite, Menuetto, Romance, March of the Finnish Jäger Battalion\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, the three French-titled Suites, opp. 98 and 100, and the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eProcessional\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, as well as several preliminary and alternative versions. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe sheer quantity of material here makes it most practical to discuss the works by category. Along with the Violin Concerto, the most important music in this set is that provided by Sibelius for two patriotic pageants during the Russian crackdown of the 1890s. Thinly disguised as benefits, the first in 1893 for education in the Viipuri district, the second in 1899 for the Press Pension Fund (the Russians had banned a Finnish newspaper), the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKarelia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePress Celebrations\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e pageants in reality served as nationalist rallies. The \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKarelia \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003emusic, written the year after \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKullervo\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and only two years after Sibelius’s first orchestral works, consisted of an Overture and music for eight tableaux; the Eighth Tableau quotes the song that would later become Finland’s national anthem. The Overture was published independently as op. 10, and three of the eight tableaux were adapted to form the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKarelia Suite\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, op. 11. The remaining music—the entire score totals 50 minutes—is well worth hearing; particularly striking are the runic singing of Tableau 1 and the “siege” music of Tableau 6. In the runic singing, I prefer the earthy female voices used in Tuomas Ollila’s recording for Ondine to the bland baritones used here; otherwise, Vänskä’s version is more compelling. BIS includes Järvi’s energetic 1982 recording of the Overture (to avoid redundancy, one supposes), but gives the Suite in a new recording by Vänskä. I’m not sure why: there are plenty of fine recordings of the Suite already, and Sibelius collectors serious enough to consider this volume doubtless already have their favorite versions; mine is the RCA\/Decca recording by Alexander Gibson, not currently available. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePress Celebrations Music\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is almost as extensive, comprising a prelude and music for six tableaux; the final movement, “Finland Awakes,” with a new ending, became \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFinlandia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, published as op. 26\/7 in the expectation that the entire score would follow. In fact, only three other tableaux were published in revised form as \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eScènes historiques I\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, op. 25. The various stages of revision of \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFinlandia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e can be heard in Vol. 1 of the Edition; in the original, instead of the familiar apotheosis of the hymn tune, the ending consists of a series of bombastic fanfares. The \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePress Celebrations\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e score is also included on the Ondine disc, but Vänskä is the clear winner. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe other major work here, of course, is the Violin Concerto. Kavakos and Vänskä give a compelling performance of the familiar 1905 revised version; it’s a performance of extremes, with the many technical challenges met head-on and the more lyrical music played with great sensitivity. Fans of Oistrakh on the one hand or Heifetz on the other won’t want to discard their favorites, but Kavakos offers yet another good option. The real story, though, is the 1991 version of Sibelius’s original score by the same artists; I believe it remains the only recording of the 1903–04 version. The comparison is intriguing; longtime \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e subscribers can find David K. Nelson’s detailed review in 14:6. It is impossible to discuss the two versions at length here, but two points should be made: first, the original is both longer and more difficult, including several fascinating passages that were later cut; second, as is almost invariably true, Sibelius’s final thoughts are his best. The revised version eliminates some interesting digressions and much extraneous detail, making it more cohesive and giving it more impact. The original version is still well worth hearing, not only because the comparison is so interesting, but also because it does include a good deal of music later eliminated. The two versions were originally issued in tandem, but here the original version is placed in an “appendix” on the last disc of the set, along with early or alternative versions of other works. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eKang and Järvi give sympathetic readings of the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eTwo Serenades\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSerious Melodies\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e; the latter are also given, in the appendix, in Sibelius’s cello version by Ylönen and Vänskä. Only the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eHumoresques\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e are a bit of a letdown. These superb pieces, written in 1917–18 when Sibelius was working on the Fifth Symphony under horrible conditions, are technically demanding and musically complex; they should be far better known, but their format—six short pieces totaling about 20 minutes—seems to have no niche in today’s concert programs. Kang and Järvi are less volatile, less exciting than Aaron Rosand on an ancient Vox LP. I have not heard the recordings of the violin-and-orchestra works by Tetzlaff or Kuusisto; Robert Maxham gave the former a mostly favorable review in 26:6, but the latter does not appear in the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Archive. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe many other pieces in this set can be addressed only briefly. Sibelius’s first orchestral works were the Overture in E Major and the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eScène de ballet\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, both written in 1891; in 31:1, I preferred Järvi to Vänskä in the former, the reverse in the latter. The Overture in A Minor was written to fill out the program for the premiere of the Second Symphony; supposedly it was composed in a single evening. It certainly is far thinner in substance than the Symphony; its introduction, striking in its use of the trumpets, fails to go anywhere. The well-known Romance in C Major is given a rather perfunctory reading; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePan and Echo\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, a “Dance Intermezzo” sometimes grouped with the tone poems, is a striking miniature. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eRakastava\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e (“The Lover”), a three-movement work for string orchestra with triangle and timpani written in 1911, the time of the Fourth Symphony, is a small masterpiece. It actually grew out of a much earlier choral work (thus perhaps explaining the anomalous opus number 11), and it was revised in 1912, Sibelius being dissatisfied with the arrangement. Again the final version is far superior to the earlier one, included in the appendix. Vänskä gives a sympathetic account. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eMost of the remaining works are of minor importance; the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThree Pieces\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, op. 96, and the three suites that followed, written between 1919 and 1922, are all essentially salon music; the Suite for Violin and String Orchestra, written in 1929 and thus one of Sibelius’s final compositions, is likewise not consequential. The \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eAndante festivo\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, a 1938 arrangement of a work composed in 1922 for string quartet, is notable not only for its noble formality, but also because the recording of Sibelius’s live broadcast for the New York World’s Fair is the only surviving document of his conducting. That recording shows that almost everyone, including Vänskä, takes the piece too quickly; Vänskä’s version here has a timing of 5:10 versus Sibelius’s 6:55. Finally, the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eProcessional\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is an arrangement of one of several songs Sibelius wrote for the Finnish Masonic lodge in 1927, again making it one of his last works. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe contents of this set range from some of Sibelius’s finest, most important works to some of the least significant products of his mature years. If you don’t have the single CD of the two versions of the Violin Concerto, or either of the pageant scores, or if you absolutely must have every scrap of orchestral music he created, this set’s for you. Collectors who have been acquiring each volume of the Edition as it is released will find this one of the more rewarding ones. Essential for Sibelians. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Richard A. Kaplan \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013275832554,"sku":"7318591921233","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262658.jpg?v=1778321211"},{"product_id":"nielsen-aho-clarinet-concertos-frost-vanska-lahti-83595","title":"Nielsen, Aho: Clarinet Concertos \/ Frost, Vanska, Lahti SO","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/features\/editors_choice.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003eAt last, a modern Nielsen to lead the field - and a future classic?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e There are eight or so modern accounts of the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto in the catalogue, plus a few no less impressive that have come and gone. Most have fine qualities. Yet for sureness of idiomatic touch none dislodges Ib Erikson’s classic 1954 Danish accounts.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Closer to the mark than any modern rivals is this new issue from Martin Fröst, the clarinettist of the moment for all-round artistry allied to adventurous approach to repertoire. He seems to have Nielsen’s irascible masterpiece in his bloodstream, as surely as he has its technical contortions under his fingers. Vänskä ensures that the Lahti players are never fazed by the exposed edges in the accompaniment, and only the very drawn-out final bars come across as slightly self-conscious. Detail for detail, phrase for phrase, I would have to give this team the palm over the old Danish recording, even before considering BIS’s immeasurably superior sound quality. Even so, Erikson and Wöldike remain a benchmark for insight into the character of the piece.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Kalevi Aho’s Concerto starts arrestingly but without a trace of the attention-seeking that afflicts certain other clarinet concertos of recent times. There is something in Aho’s five continuous movements that recalls Nielsen’s directness and free-flowing succession of ideas, and the cadenza that forms the second movement even brings momentary echoes of Nielsen’s uncompromising skirls and flourishes. But the Finn’s sights are set more on the starkly elemental than on the quirkily personal. For Aho the Vivace con brio third movement is the “centre and culmination”, and it is certainly exuberant – dangerous, even – in its restless virtuosity, rather like Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel driven mad by inner demons. After this a sad slow movement brings sober reflection, and an Epilogue concludes the work on a note of mystery.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Few would now question the status of the Nielsen as the finest clarinet concerto of the 20th century. Time will tell with Kalevi Aho’s concerto in the 21st. In the short term it will probably daunt as many prospective soloists and orchestras as Nielsen’s work did in its time. But there can have been few equally impressive head-on engagements with the concerto medium in recent years. In sum, a CD of rare distinction.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- David Fanning, Gramophone [5\/2007]\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013281304810,"sku":"7318599914633","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632866.jpg?v=1778324390"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-15-minea-double-bass-104560","title":"Aho: Symphony No 15, Minea, Double Bass Concerto \/ Vanska, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003e'My apotheosis of the dance' is how Kalevi Aho describes his Symphony No.15. With two dance movements and rhythm a central element, the score calls for numerous percussion instruments, including non-Western ones such as bongos, darbuka, djembe and the riqq, an Arabian tambourine. The composer's interest in non-Western music and instruments has been evident in several recent works, such as his Symphony No. 14 (recorded on BIS-1686) and Oboe Concerto (BIS-1876). It also played an important part during the creation of Minea, composed as a concert opener for the Minnesota Orchestra on the initiative of Osmo Vänskä, who also conducts the work here. Mentioning Indian ragas, Japanese shakuhachi music, Arabian rhythms and Eastern scales, Aho explains that his aim has been to expand his own sound world with elements of other classical music cultures, and to try to view the Western musical tradition from other perspectives. Minea and Symphony No.15 frame the composer's Concerto for Double Bass, composed in 2005 for Eero Munter. In order to be able to write idiomatically for the instrument, the composer borrowed a double bass, and as work on the piece progressed, he actually grew proficient enough to try out most of the solo part - albeit at a very slow tempo, as he freely admits! The concerto offers the opportunity to hear the solo instrument in highly unusual contexts, for instance in the two accompanied cadenzas - the first a pizzicato duet with the harp, and the second a trio with two percussionists. Throughout the disc we hear the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, which for more than 20 years has made a remarkable commitment to the composer, performing and recording a large number of his works. The orchestra is conducted by Jaakko Kuusisto and Dima Slobodeniouk, as well as by the above-mentioned Osmo Vänskä.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013287858410,"sku":"7318599918662","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2498379.jpg?v=1778381695"},{"product_id":"sibelius-the-tempest-the-bard-tapiola-okko-83691","title":"Sibelius: The Tempest, The Bard, Tapiola \/ Okko Kamu, Lahti Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo many, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra has become synonymous with excellence in Sibelius repertoire. Its numerous recordings with the previous chief conductor Osmo Vänskä have received countless distinctions and awards, and the orchestra is universally regarded as having a very special affinity for the music of their great compatriot. On the present disc it is Okko Kamu, Vänskä's successor as chief conductor, who wields the baton. Kamu has been a presence on the international scene ever since the early 1970s, when he made a highly-acclaimed set of Sibelius symphonies in partnership with Herbert von Karajan. Here three other works by Sibelius make up the programme, which opens with music for Shakespeare's play The Tempest, for which the composer in 1925 wrote the most ambitious of his several theatre scores. For concert use he later selected the Overture and two Suites recorded here. In 1926, a year after The Tempest, Sibelius again turned to the realm of magic in his masterful evocation of the forest, the symphonic poem Tapiola. The title can be translated as 'the domain of Tapio', god of the forest in Finnish mythology, and according to Walter Damrosch, who conducted the first performance, the audience was 'enthralled by the dark pine forests and the shadowy gods and wood-nymphs who dwell therein'. From the start the work has been regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces from Sibelius' pen. These two large-scale works are here separated by the seven-minute long symphonic poem The Bard from 1913, a work which in its treatment of the thematic material and the chamber-music-like quality of its scoring invites comparison with the Fourth Symphony of two year's earlier.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013296607466,"sku":"7318599919454","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263852.jpg?v=1778298789"},{"product_id":"sieidi-symphony-no-5-359575","title":"Aho: Sieidi - Symphony No. 5 \/ Slobodeniouk, Lahti Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith 17 symphonies and 32 concertos to date, Kalevi Aho is one of today’s most prolific composers of large-scale orchestral scores. The present release brings together two works separated by 35 years, but also by the reception they have enjoyed: whereas Sieidi, the percussion concerto Aho composed in 2010, has become one of his most performed works, Symphony No. 5 from the mid-70s is a rarely heard score. Sieidi was written for Colin Currie, who has recorded it here and who performs the concerto with orchestras across the world. Its title, a word in Sami, is used in reference to the rituals and shamanism of indigenous peoples around the world, and the solo part, which makes use of nine different percussion instruments, begins and ends with the djembe and darbuka, drums usually heard in African and Arab music. The instruments are placed in a row towards the front of the stage, and during the course of the work the soloist makes his way across the platform, from the right to the left and back, reinforcing the ritualistic dimension of the piece. Currie is supported by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under its principal conductor Dima Slobodeniouk, a team with a deep familiarity with Aho’s music. This stands them in good stead when they take on the highly complicated score of Symphony No. 5, which in places even calls for a second conductor: wishing to express the incoherence of human existence, the composer lets various, often unrelated musical events overlap, at times dividing the orchestra into two parts playing at different speeds. Composing the work was ‘an exceptional effort’ according to Aho, who adds that it left him ‘with the liberating feeling that everything was now possible – that any musical problem or crisis could be overcome.’\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013466935530,"sku":"7318599923369","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3842056-2594863.jpg?v=1778245393"},{"product_id":"nordic-spell-7318590014998","title":"Nordic Spell","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46020405919978,"sku":"7318590014998","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263552.jpg?v=1778299001"},{"product_id":"aho-symphonic-dances-symphony-no-11-vanska-240439","title":"Aho: Symphonic Dances, Symphony No 11 \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"\u003cp\u003eKalevi Aho needs little introduction to people familiar with the BIS label. He is, quite simply, the foremost Finnish composer of his generation as well as the most prolific. This is the ninth disc devoted exclusively to his music and he has contributed single works to numerous other CDs. Aho is unique among contemporary composers in his concern for the music of his immediate forebears and the first half of this disc consists of his homage to the composer Uno Klami (1900-1961). Klami's greatest work, the ballet score 'Whirls' (CD656), was unfinished when the composer died. He was intending to write the definitive Finish ballet based, as one would expect, on stories from Kalevala, the great poem of Finnish mythology that has inspired so much art in Finland. Kalevi Aho undertook to write the missing third act of this ballet so that the ballet could be performed in full and this was the origin of the 'Symphonic Dances' presented here. The second half of the disc comprises Aho's eleventh symphony. Several of Aho's previous symphonies have included a major part for a solo instrument. Here the 'solo' instrument consists of a huge battery of instruments performed by the six members of the Kroumata Percussion Ensemble! Once again Kalevi Aho displays his ability to get under the skin of an instrument and to communicate his insights in a musical language that is readily accessible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46020431675626,"sku":"7318590013366","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263419.jpg?v=1778315413"},{"product_id":"sibelius-lemminkainen-in-tuonela-1896-version-3-pieces-7318590014851","title":"Sibelius: Lemminkainen In Tuonela (1896 Version) \/ 3 Pieces","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46020432003306,"sku":"7318590014851","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263545.jpg?v=1778297603"},{"product_id":"sibelius-the-symphonies-kamu-lahti-symphony-149235","title":"Sibelius: The Symphonies \/ Kamu, Lahti Symphony","description":"These hybrid Super Audio CDs play on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – BBC Music Magazine","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46025939648746,"sku":"7318599920764","price":42.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3037501.jpg?v=1778308104"},{"product_id":"silvestrov-symphonies-no-4-5-saraste-83628","title":"Silvestrov: Symphonies No 4 \u0026 5 \/ Saraste","description":"\u003cp\u003eInternationally, Lahti Symphony Orchestra is closely associated with the numerous Sibelius recordings released on BIS, conducted by their long-time chief conductor Osmo Vänskä. These recordings have received an overwhelming international welcome among reviewers, but also among record-buyers: as of August 2009 more than one million Lahti discs released by BIS have been sold! As many already know, the orchestra does not only play works by Sibelius - its recordings of music by contemporary Finnish composers such as Rautavaara, Kalevi Aho and Joonas Kokkonen have all met with critical acclaim. Led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, its present chief conductor, the orchestra now takes a step eastwards, and performs two symphonies by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Having as a student absorbed the music of Webern, Scriabin and the new Polish school, in the 1970s Silvestrov moved away from avant-garde techniques and became increasingly involved with the idiom of 19th-century song: 'It seems to me that music is song in spite of everything, even when it is unable to sing in a literal sense. Not a philosophy, not a system of beliefs, but the song of the world about itself, and at the same time a musical testament to existence.' To date, Silvestrov has composed seven symphonies, of which the Fourth (1976) and the Fifth (1980-82) are both dominated by a longing for a beauty that used to be, but is no longer within reach. Considered by some to be his masterpiece, Symphony No. 5 has for instance been described as 'an epilogue or coda inspired by the music of late Romantic composers such as Gustav Mahler.'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025991717098,"sku":"7318590017036","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263707_49ab1d9d-1c1f-4fb9-8098-de5fe5f093d7.jpg?v=1778295642"},{"product_id":"rautavaara-symphony-no-7-angel-of-light-dances-with-wi-7318590010389","title":"Rautavaara: Symphony No. 7,  Angel Of Light \/ Dances With Wi","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026304422122,"sku":"7318590010389","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263158.jpg?v=1778311896"},{"product_id":"sibelius-lemminkainen-suite-osmo-vanska-lahti-so-83564","title":"Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite \/ Osmo Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026305175786,"sku":"7318590010150","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263137.jpg?v=1778319340"},{"product_id":"sibelius-patriotic-music-7318590011157","title":"Sibelius: Patriotic Music","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026305405162,"sku":"7318590011157","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263225.jpg?v=1778312730"},{"product_id":"the-red-violin-corigliano-kuusisto-concertos-vahala-240315","title":"The Red Violin - Corigliano, Kuusisto: Concertos \/ Vahala, Kuusisto, Lahti Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Corigliano's violin concerto 'The Red Violin' originated as the score to a film about a violin by one of the Old Italian master-builders, and its journeys around the world throughout three centuries. While working on the film score, Corigliano also produced a one-movement concert version of it, which he later expanded into a full-scale concerto in four movements. The son of a violinist, Corigliano's aim was to write a concerto in a style his father would have wanted to play, and he has managed to do so without sacrificing any of the music's communicative qualities, or its wealth of colours, emotions and atmospheres. The work is coupled here with a concerto of a similar broad appeal, composed by Jaakko Kuusisto, who is a highly respected violinist in his own right, as well as conductor. In his liner notes, Kuusisto recounts how he had toyed with the idea of writing a violin concerto for several years, but that the project only came into fruition after a commission from his colleague Elina Vähälä, and the liberating prospect of composing a work for another performer than himself. Appearing for the first time on BIS, the acclaimed violinist Elina Vähäla has a wide-ranging career, both geographically and in terms of repertoire. She made her début at the age of twelve, performing as a soloist with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, which lends her spirited support on the present disc, and also performs the orchestral piece Leika. Using the Icelandic word for 'play' as its title, Kuusisto's composition displays a playfulness and wealth of colours that makes it a perfect curtain raiser for this appealing disc.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026322411754,"sku":"7318599920207","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2290377.jpg?v=1778290370"},{"product_id":"sibelius-the-tempest-complete-vanska-lahti-so-178894","title":"Sibelius: The Tempest (Complete) \/ Vanska, Lahti So","description":"\u003cp\u003eSelection recorded August 31-September 4, 1992.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026361143530,"sku":"7318590005811","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262885.jpg?v=1778312884"},{"product_id":"armas-jarnefelt-orchestral-works-jaakko-kuusisto-lahti-240504","title":"Armas Jarnefelt: Orchestral Works \/ Jaakko Kuusisto, Lahti Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003eArmas Järnefelt (1869-1958) was a member of a family which made a profound mark on Finnish culture. One of his brothers was a painter, and another an author - and their sister Aino married Sibelius. For Armas, whose chosen field was music, the close proximity of Sibelius must have been quite overpowering - in old age he himself spoke of the stifling influence of Sibelius's unique genius. Maybe this is one reason why Järnefelt's most ambitious compositions were written in relatively close succession in the 1890s, just around the time when Sibelius had his first great break-through, and also why he soon changed direction and became a conductor first and foremost. Completed in the spring of 1893, Järnefelt's Serenade was composed in Paris, and the French influence - especially that of his teacher Massenet - can be clearly heard. Its six movements encompass a wide variety of moods, with many instrumental solos adding touches of colour, for instance in the emotionally charged Adagio for violin and strings. Two year's later, in the Symphonic Fantasy, composed after a momentous visit to Bayreuth, the influences are rather Wagnerian, and especially obvious in the central slow section with its clear reminiscences of Parsifal. The programme closes with Berceuse for violin and orchestra, which in 1904 marked the end of Järnefelt's most active period as a composer for orchestra. The piece is a beautifully atmospheric miniature which has found a place in concerts of lighter music all over the world. Conducting his compatriot's music - as well as performing the violin solos - is Jaakko Kuusisto, well-known to a wider audience for his recordings as a violinist of music by Sibelius, Rautavaara and Kalevi Aho. He stands in front of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, whose performances of the music of Sibelius have earned them world-wide recognition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026364027114,"sku":"7318590017531","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263741_4a69256d-e1d4-4cfe-bcdb-49ba1ec4e3db.jpg?v=1778316104"},{"product_id":"sibelius-edition-vol-12-symphonies-vanska-lahti-156846","title":"Sibelius Edition Vol 12 - Symphonies \/ Vanska, Lahti SO","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 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!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026370416874,"sku":"7318591933359","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262632.jpg?v=1778313154"},{"product_id":"kuusisto-elisa-superblond-snacks-nos-1-3-010101-7318590050156","title":"Kuusisto: Elisa \/ Superblond \/ Snacks Nos. 1-3 \/ 010101","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026398040298,"sku":"7318590050156","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263904.jpg?v=1778297249"},{"product_id":"sibelius-symphony-no-5-en-saga-vanska-83796","title":"Sibelius: Symphony No 5, En Saga \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026399940842,"sku":"7318590008003","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262984.jpg?v=1778321006"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-13-piano-concerto-no-240433","title":"Aho: Symphony No 13, Piano Concerto No 2 \/ Siirala, Vanska","description":"The partnership between BIS and Finnish composer Kalevi Aho is a most fruitful one, as our survey of this composer’s work amply demonstrates. The most recent additions to Aho’s growing discography include a massive orchestral work premiered on a mountainside – Symphony No. 12 ‘Luosto’ – and the smaller-scale but no less compelling Symphony No.14 ‘Rituaaleja’. Happily, Osmo Vänskä – who had already moved to Minnesota – returned to Finland to record the two works on this new disc. He certainly knows this composer’s sound-world better than anyone, his long relationship with the Lahti orchestra cemented by their earlier, much-praised Sibelius cycle for BIS. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This new concerto, commissioned by the Mänttä Music festival’s artistic director Niklas Pokki, was written with Finnish pianist Antti Siirala in mind. Unaccountably I’ve not heard this soloist before, although he’s already collected a clutch of major awards. So, how does he fare, and how does this 21st-century concerto sound? It’s rather intimate – the pianist is accompanied by just 20 string players – and on first acquaintance the quicksilver writing reminded me of Prokofiev. That did surprise me, as the composer’s liner-notes make mention of Siirala’s prowess in a rather different musical tradition, that of Beethoven, Liszt and Brahms. However, that apparent dichotomy is soon resolved, with writing – and playing – that will certainly bring that illustrious trio to mind.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The three movements, played without a break, have a wonderful; rhapsodic character, the BIS engineers capturing Siirala’s warm, natural pianism very well indeed. And yes, even though one might detect a Brahmsian flavour at times – sample the passage that begins at 3:00 – there’s a strong, very individual voice here, any stylistic snatches welded into an entirely original and convincing whole. As for the strings, they soften the music’s edges, bringing out a wonderful sense of wistfulness in quieter passages. Just sample the gentle rain of sound that Siirala conjures up at 7:59 in the second movement, the string playing that follows Straussian in its weight and quiet stoicism. The Lahti forces are glorious, full, warm and beautifully blended.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And while the final movement strikes a distinctly Brahms\/Beethoven pose at the start, the quirkier writing that follows seem closer to Prokofiev. Siirala delights in the glittering melodies, which he dashes off with aplomb, the strings adding their strange, tangential harmonies to the mix. This concerto is both elusive and refreshing; also it’s piqued my interest in this most talented pianist, who I’d especially like to hear in core 19th- and 20th-century repertoire.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Symphony No. 13, commissioned to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Lahti’s Sibelius Hall, makes use of the building’s unique acoustics. In his liner-notes Aho points out that various instruments are directed to play in the lighting gallery, the echo chambers and the choir. Listeners may remember he experimented with instruments and singers in the same hall in an effort to reproduce the spatial effects of ‘Luosto’, his outdoor symphony. Speaking of subtitles, the 13th has one too, ‘Symphonic Characterizations’. Cast in two movements, it depicts a range of human traits. Again, listeners may be reminded of the composer’s anthropomorphic ~ and highly entertaining – Insect Symphony (No. 7).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The different instrumental placements and varying acoustics, evident from the outset, probably work very well in the hall itself, but I’m not convinced the intended effects are that apparent here. Perhaps this would have sounded more striking as a multi-channel SACD – as was the case with ‘Luosto’. That said, there’s no denying the sinewy orchestration and constant momentum of the piece, which yokes together a whole range of conflicting moods – imperioso, semplice, malinconico, aristocratico, morbido and calcolatore. It’s an interesting conceit, but listeners may feel – as I do – that these labels aren’t pivotal to one’s enjoyment of the symphony as a whole.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Once again, I was struck by the composer’s economy of style, which creates music of chamber-like lucidity and concentration. The allure lies not so much in the overall picture but in the daubs that make up this larger orchestral canvas. In some ways the work’s discrete inner dialogues make it seem more like a concerto for orchestra than a symphony. Even in the second movement, with its emphasis on baser emotions, the percussion and brass are sparingly used, the various instrumental colours and timbres captured with commendable crispness and clarity. Just listen to the shimmering tam-tam at 5:00, it’s so wonderfully tactile.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e New Aho recordings are always a cause for celebration, and this one is no exception. Of the two works here the concerto probably has the broadest appeal; it’s inventive without being perverse, and effortlessly tuneful without ever sounding anodyne. Many of the same qualities come through in the symphony as well, but if you really want to hear this composer at the height of his powers I’d suggest you try the more recent Symphony No. 14.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Not the best introduction to this discreet, ever-fascinating composer’s œuvre – the early symphonies would be a better place to start – but a must-hear for those who already own the other works in this excellent cycle.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026404397290,"sku":"7318590013168","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263403.jpg?v=1778315477"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-3-mussorgsky-vanska-lahti-123549","title":"Aho: Symphony No 3;  Mussorgsky \/ Vänskä, Lahti So, Et Al","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis disc is very BIS. It brings together several extraordinary talents in a programme that skillfully links together the old and the new. The unifying factor is Kalevi Aho - the leading compoer of his generation in Finland. It features his third symphony - Sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra. Jaakko Kuusisto, the leading Finnish violinist of his generation, is the soloist. The other work on this disc is Mussorgsky's song cycle 'Songs and Dances of Death' which Aho orchestrated for the great Finnish bass Martti Talvela. Here the soloist is the most fêted bass of his generation, Matti Salminen. To complete this glamorous package we have Osmo Vänskä conducting his Lahti Symphony Orchestra. The recordings were supervised by the celebrated BIS team of Robert Suff and Ingo Petry and took place in the stunning new all-wood concert hall in Lahti.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026406232298,"sku":"7318590011867","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263290.jpg?v=1778299215"},{"product_id":"aho-symphony-no-12-storgards-lahti-so-145180","title":"Aho: Symphony No 12 \/ Storgards, Lahti SO, Lapland CO, London CO","description":"\u003cp\u003eContinuing a commitment which began in 1989, BIS has released a number of discs dedicated to the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho. These includes programmes with chamber music, but the majority involve large orchestra, performing large orchestral works. One genre favoured by Aho is that of the concerto, and the recently released recording of his Clarinet Concerto made a great impact on reviewers around the world, who described it as 'intensely lyrical, thematically memorable, and beautifully scored' (ClassicsToday.com), 'a deeply moving master-piece' (Fono Forum), and 'a chef-d'oeuvre of our time!' (Classica-Répertoire). This prolific composer is also one of today's great symphonic writers: his current work list includes no less than fourteen symphonies, and nine of these have been released on BIS, to great acclaim - upon its release in 1999, No.7 was for instance greeted as 'one of our century's great orchestral scores' by the reviewer in American Record Guide. But even within such an extraordinary body of works, Kalevi Aho's 'Symphony No.12, Luosto',holds a very special place. Written for a performance on the slopes of Mount Luosto in Finnish Lapland, it makes use of two orchestras, two vocal soloists and a number of brass players and percussionists placed at various distances from each other and the conductor, surrounding the audience. The primary inspiration for this four-movement work came from the natural surroundings and traditions of Lapland, and parts of it were actually composed during a bitterly cold spell in the solitude of a cottage at the foot of Orresokka, the mountain next to Luosto. The three-dimensional qualities written into the score makes it the perfect subject for a Surround Sound recording, and during the recording sessions in the acclaimed acoustics of the Lahti Sibelius Hall, great pains were taken to recreate the set-up of the first performance. This took place in 2003, in front of - or rather around - an audience of over 2000 people, and became the starting point of 'LuostoClassic', an annual summer music festival which in 2008 features another performance of Aho's symphony. Among the performers on the present recording, the vocal soloists, the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland and the conductor John Storgårds all took part in the première of the work. The uniqueness of the work, in terms of both sonic qualities and conception, would render any additional work meaningless in the context of a single disc, which is why it is published on its own despite the playing time of just under 50 minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46026414260458,"sku":"7318599916767","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632807.jpg?v=1778333675"},{"product_id":"rautavaara-symphony-no-8-the-journey-violin-concerto-7318590013151","title":"Rautavaara: Symphony No. 8, \"The Journey\" \/ Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026433233130,"sku":"7318590013151","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263402.jpg?v=1778292228"},{"product_id":"sibelius-vanska-lahti-so-111265","title":"Sibelius \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026435231978,"sku":"7318590011256","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263235.jpg?v=1778312922"},{"product_id":"sibelius-the-complete-symphonies-vanska-lahti-so-71196","title":"Sibelius: The Complete Symphonies \/ Vänskä, Lahti So","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026437722346,"sku":"7318591286882","price":45.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262641.jpg?v=1778320642"},{"product_id":"finnish-hymns-1-7318590011492","title":"Finnish Hymns 1","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026523050218,"sku":"7318590011492","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263256.jpg?v=1778299051"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/lahti-symphony-orchestra.oembed?page=2","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}