The Snowshoed Sibelius

[André]

I have just listened to Symphony No 1 on Spotify. It is a fine performance and GSM is right about the clarity of the sound but not sure I want yet another Sibelius symphony cycle. I will have to listen further. Meanwhile, Spotify also brought up another recording of No 1 - from Yannick Nezet-Seguin - I have saved it (and the Jarvi cycle) for later listening.

YNS will conduct all the symphonies this season in Montreal. Recordings will probably ensue. No 1 is in the can already.

[Biffo]

Another visit to the Jarvi/Paris symphony cycle, No 3 this time and a very different impression from the clarity of No 1. While there is plenty of woodwind detail the main impression is one of heaviness. The first movement is stodgy and the third movement laboured. Not impressed.

[vandermolen]

I rather like this endearing account of Sibelius's relationship with his wife Aino.

'...perenially in debt and mostly drunk.'

http://www.interlude.hk/front/nordic-fairytalejanne-sibelius-aino-jarnefelt/

[calyptorhynchus]

Similar anecdote from Robert Simpson: he went to Denmark in the early 50s and spoke to Nielsen's friends and family. They told him that Sibelius was a frequent visitor chez Nielsen when he came to Copenhagen. "They must have had marvelous conversations about music!" said Simpson. "No," he was told, "Sibelius was always drunk".

[vandermolen]

Similar anecdote from Robert Simpson: he went to Denmark in the early 50s and spoke to Nielsen's friends and family. They told him that Sibelius was a frequent visitor chez Nielsen when he came to Copenhagen. "They must have had marvelous conversations about music!" said Simpson. "No," he was told, "Sibelius was always drunk".

Not heard that one before! Thanks.

[vandermolen]

I enjoyed the Berglund/Haendel recording of the Violin Concerto. I found it very atmospheric and beautifully played. Despite hearing it live last year it's not a work that I listen to much - so difficult for me to compare it with other recordings.

[relm1]

Which recording of the violin concerto do you consider the most austere (grave, solemn, serious, dramatic)?  von Karajan?

[vandermolen]

Which recording of the violin concerto do you consider the most austere (grave, solemn, serious, dramatic)?  von Karajan?

Not sure Karim as I don't know that many.

[Mirror Image]

Which recording of the violin concerto do you consider the most austere (grave, solemn, serious, dramatic)?  von Karajan?

My favorite recording of the Violin Concerto is Hilary Hahn with Esa-Pekka Salonen on Deutsche Grammophon. For me, no other performance captures the snowbound loneliness and the fiery, almost volcanic surges that run deep through this concerto better than Hahn/Salonen.

[vandermolen]

Which recording of the violin concerto do you consider the most austere (grave, solemn, serious, dramatic)?  von Karajan?

I think that this one, which I've been listening to this morning, might appeal. It has a wonderful, very quiet, urgent and magical opening and has a generally brooding atmosphere. I certainly feel more involved that I usually do with this work. Reviews tend to suggest that the performance divides opinion but I like it very much. It's also coupled with a very fine performance of 'Tapiola' (LSO conducted by Tauno Hannikainen):

[Madiel]

My favorite recording of the Violin Concerto is Hilary Hahn with Esa-Pekka Salonen on Deutsche Grammophon. For me, no other performance captures the snowbound loneliness and the fiery, almost volcanic surges that run deep through this concerto better than Hahn/Salonen.

I'm curious whether you know the one that Salonen did with Cho-Liang Lin, which is the one I chose to buy.

[Mirror Image]

I'm curious whether you know the one that Salonen did with Cho-Liang Lin, which is the one I chose to buy.

Yes, I know that one as well and it didn't make much of an impression on me. I contribute this mainly to Lin's violin playing which didn't 'wow' me like Hahn's. I also found Lin's playing rather faceless compared to Hahn's.

[Madiel]

Yes, I know that one as well and it didn't make much of an impression on me. I contribute this mainly to Lin's violin playing which didn't 'wow' me like Hahn's. I also found Lin's playing rather faceless compared to Hahn's.

Oh well. I adored the very opening of Lin's performance, essentially because it was the closest match to the BIS recording by Leonidas Kavakos, only I shied away from the BIS because it gives you 2 versions of the same piece and I wasn't terribly convinced I wanted that. But I did want the kind of withdrawn sound that they both open with.

And that pretty much was the starting point for picking it. I do seem to remember that Hahn was a contender for me though.

[Brian]

As a person who looks for exactly the opposite qualities in the Sibelius concerto, I can vouch for Kavakos and Hahn (especially their orchestral accompaniments) as austere, withdrawn, grave, lonely. Those words definitely apply, which is why I prefer to listen to livelier, warmer accounts by Adele Anthony, her husband Gil Shaham, Augustin Hadelich, or the o.g., Jascha Heifetz.

[André]

I bought and listened to symphonies 1-4 by Berglund/Helsinki. Best in the lot were nos 1 and 4, but IMO these performances do not reach a very high level of listener communication. It's not without an interesting musical profile of its own, but it comes across as just too aloof to engage the listener (me) intellectually or emotionally.

In the Segerstam set I have yet to listen to nos 4 and 5. Yesterday I put on symphonies 2, 6 and 7 and the Tempest Suite plus In Memoriam. No 2 was a pleasant listen but there is no sharpness to the attacks and releases, very little drama and tension. What it does offer is a plush, beautifully articulated execution at a comfortable pace. Segerstam' no 6 is very nice, and I enjoyed it moderately.  This is the most elusive of all the symphonies. Cinderella-like, the right 'fit' tends to prove extremely rare, and so far I remain loyal to Karajan's first BP version on DGG on account of its perfectly chosen tempi and spacious, luminous sound. Karajan's later version is not exactly obese, but slightly too slack and the recorded sound fails to encase the performance in an identifiable acoustic.

Segerstam's no 7 is the pick of the crop so far, a performance of immense power and majesty. The awe factor is very high, and the conductor clothes it all in the most sumptuous orchestral textures. The chilling ff dissonant chord before the last section is exactly what it should be: a striking whipping, a farewell to tonality. Superbly done.

[vandermolen]

I bought and listened to symphonies 1-4 by Berglund/Helsinki. Best in the lot were nos 1 and 4, but IMO these performances do not reach a very high level of listener communication. It's not without an interesting musical profile of its own, but it comes across as just too aloof to engage the listener (me) intellectually or emotionally.

In the Segerstam set I have yet to listen to nos 4 and 5. Yesterday I put on symphonies 2, 6 and 7 and the Tempest Suite plus In Memoriam. No 2 was a pleasant listen but there is no sharpness to the attacks and releases, very little drama and tension. What it does offer is a plush, beautifully articulated execution at a comfortable pace. Segerstam' no 6 is very nice, and I enjoyed it moderately.  This is the most elusive of all the symphonies. Cinderella-like, the right 'fit' tends to prove extremely rare, and so far I remain loyal to Karajan's first BP version on DGG on account of its perfectly chosen tempi and spacious, luminous sound. Karajan's later version is not exactly obese, but slightly too slack and the recorded sound fails to encase the performance in an identifiable acoustic.

Segerstam's no 7 is the pick of the crop so far, a performance of immense power and majesty. The awe factor is very high, and the conductor clothes it all in the most sumptuous orchestral textures. The chilling ff dissonant chord before the last section is exactly what it should be: a striking whipping, a farewell to tonality. Superbly done.

I prefer the Berglund Bournemouth set.

[Herman]

I rather like this endearing account of Sibelius's relationship with his wife Aino.

'...perenially in debt and mostly drunk.'

http://www.interlude.hk/front/nordic-fairytalejanne-sibelius-aino-jarnefelt/

that thing that strikes me more is that Mr and Mrs Sibelius apparently continued writing x-rated letters to each other ever after.

[vandermolen]

that thing that strikes me more is that Mr and Mrs Sibelius apparently continued writing x-rated letters to each other ever after.

I also liked the part where Aino writes to Jean saying that she is never prepared to watch him conduct whilst in an intoxicated state ever again.

[relm1]

I think Sibelius might be a perfect composer.  I can literally listen to anything he composed and enjoy it.  He is one of the very few composers I can listen to every symphony in a single sitting.  But the same can be said about his tone poems or songs.

[SymphonicAddict]

I think Sibelius might be a perfect composer.  I can literally listen to anything he composed and enjoy it.  He is one of the very few composers I can listen to every symphony in a single sitting.  But the same can be said about his tone poems or songs.

Yes, actually, it's not a hard task (less so for hardened symphony fanatics  ). Sibelius is light-weight comparing him with others. His music is quite rewarding overall, and something I've noticed is that his works contain little bombast or nothing of it, rather imbued with certain natural motion that often sounds spiritual.