The Snowshoed Sibelius

[AnotherSpin]

Thanks for this. And in particular thanks for mentioning Munch in 7 - your comment prompted me to listen to his extraordinary, passionate performance. Impossible to listen to anything after it, it's such a powerful experience.

This live recording is also included in this set and is available on Qobuz.

[vandermolen]

Ask her if she'll marry you. You'll be amused by the reply.

Just tried it but I never got more that 2/3 right so she rejected my proposal 
Good fun though - thanks.

[Mandryka]

This live recording is also included in this set and is available on Qobuz.

That's the one I listened to, it looks like there are others on youtube. It really did have a big impact on me last night - I guess I was in the right frame of mind!

[AnotherSpin]

That's the one I listened to, it looks like there are others on youtube. It really did have a big impact on me last night - I guess I was in the right frame of mind!

I see two recordings by Munch with the Boston Symphony on YouTube: one from July 30, 1965 (Tanglewood) and the other from March 18, 1966 (Symphony Hall, Boston). The first one resonated with me more, though the second is also excellent. I fully agree that Munch's interpretations of the 7th are extraordinary.

I'm curious—what exactly did you listen to afterward for comparison that made you conclude it's "impossible to listen to anything else after it"? If it's Karajan, then I understand what you mean

[André]

Well, I listened to another Sib7 after Munch. It was Szell with the Cleveland orchestra. Objectively it was fine, but it sounded tight and skimpy after Munch's.

[AnotherSpin]

After two versions by Munch, I listened to Karajan, three versions by Berglund, and Vänskä with the Lahti Symphony. Karajan was very disappointing—completely off the mark—but the Finns were excellent. The last one I heard was Berglund's third version last night before bed, and it felt magical after a long and eventful day. I'll keep exploring other versions.

[kyjo]

Once again I find myself in the midst of a very busy time of year, but tonight I'm taking the effort to make a somewhat substantial contribution to GMG. The wintry weather often puts me in the mood for Sibelius - I mean, what composer goes better with a season than Sibelius with winter? So, recently I've explored his solo piano output, which was relatively unknown to me until now. It's all been recorded splendidly by pianist Janne Mertanen on this 5-disc set from Sony:



Sibelius' piano music, like Dvorak's, often gets sniffed at as being "insubstantial" and "unpianistic". Okay, there are no "monumental" statements here, but so what? These pieces almost always carry Sibelius' distinctive fingerprints that we know and love from his orchestral works. The earlier works here, like the 10 Pieces, Op. 24 and the F major Sonata often have a surprisingly big, "symphonic" demeanor (the Romance Op. 24/2 is the longest track in the set at 7 minutes long - powerful stuff). The Sonata is a compact, breezy, and invigorating work that really ought to be a staple of the piano repertoire. Many of the later piano works are on the brief side (1-3 minutes long) and could be described as high-quality salon music, but are none the worse for that. You won't find the pianistic equivalents of the 4th Symphony or Tapiola here, despite the fact that their composition dates overlap. Other highlights include the atmospheric Kylikki, the quirky Zwei Rondinos, the 10 Pieces Op. 58, and the delectable Valse chevaleresque and Valse lyrique. If you're a Sibelius fan, you owe it to yourself to explore at least some of his pianistic output!

[Madiel]

I love that set and have been advocating it enthusiastically on the WAYLT thread from time to time. To my ears one of the best 2 recordings available (the other is Servadei which is harder to come by physically, not sure about its streaming status).

Two of the opus numbers are completely off, namely opp.34 and 40 really belong with op.76 as miscellaneous collections. Once you know that it's very interesting to hear the evolution of Sibelius' style through his piano works. I do agree that op.24 is particularly memorable, big Romantic music.