I want to acquire the music of Sallinen, but there are two versions. The ones on CPO, and the rival versions on BIS.
Help would be appreciated very much.
Feel free to give your opinion on other recommendations.
Thanks :)
And I'm another one interested! So there'll two of us appreciating. ;D
Most of the cpo recordings are essential (I don't have the most recent). I assume that their symphony cycle will be completed eventually, however 3, 5 and 6 aren't out yet.
I would recommend all the cpos, though I'd suggest you supplement them with 1 & 3 on BIS (I strongly prefer Berglund's more virile recordings of 1 and Chorali to Rasilainen's more sensuous interpretation on cpo) and either the Finlandia or BIS recordings of the 5th symphony. For other works, the string quartets and Songs of Life and Death on Ondine are strongly recommended (even if you don't like vocal music).
Quote from: edward on April 13, 2007, 05:16:25 AM
Most of the cpo recordings are essential (I don't have the most recent). I assume that their symphony cycle will be completed eventually, however 3, 5 and 6 aren't out yet.
I would recommend all the cpos, though I'd suggest you supplement them with 1 & 3 on BIS (I strongly prefer Berglund's more virile recordings of 1 and Chorali to Rasilainen's more sensuous interpretation on cpo) and either the Finlandia or BIS recordings of the 5th symphony. For other works, the string quartets and Songs of Life and Death on Ondine are strongly recommended (even if you don't like vocal music).
If you buy the CPO disc and the BIS of the first Symphony you double up, and later on with the third Symphony as well.
For me is to find out which I have to invest in, in your opinion that would be CPO. I will look out for the SQ.
Thanks.
I only have the BIS, which is good, but I imagine it can be bettered.
Songs of Life and Death is by far my favorite Sallinen non-opera work! You simply MUST get it! If you are interested in opera at all, Sallinen composed some of the best late 20th century operas there is.
Quote from: springrite on April 13, 2007, 05:32:22 AM
I only have the BIS, which is good, but I imagine it can be bettered.
Songs of Life and Death is by far my favorite Sallinen non-opera work! You simply MUST get it! If you are interested in opera at all, Sallinen composed some of the best late 20th century operas there is.
Tell me a little more why you think the BIS recording can be bettered!
I consider Songs of life and Death, if you insist my friend, but decline with respect the opera offering. :)
Just investigating this composer. Had Symphony No 1 etc on a BIS LP. Now have Symphony 8, Violin concerto etc on CD (CPO). Interesting, thought provoking music. any particular recommendations; which symphonies? I like the work "Shadows" on this CD.
I shall get back to you on this, Jeffrey...I promise :)
Trying to get ready for a cocktail party I am going to ;D
If you like the 8th Symphony, be sure to hear the 4th and 5th - both great late-20th-c. symphonies. 4 is the more traditional work, and I like it more than 5, but I seem to be in the minority on this.
Already mentioned by others: Songs of Life and Death, a de facto requiem, is highly recommended.
Quote from: Spitvalve on September 27, 2008, 10:55:37 AM
If you like the 8th Symphony, be sure to hear the 4th and 5th - both great late-20th-c. symphonies. 4 is the more traditional work, and I like it more than 5, but I seem to be in the minority on this.
Already mentioned by others: Songs of Life and Death, a de facto requiem, is highly recommended.
thank you. V helpful :)
Quote from: Dundonnell on September 27, 2008, 09:52:34 AM
I shall get back to you on this, Jeffrey...I promise :)
Trying to get ready for a cocktail party I am going to ;D
Of course I think it quite unreasonable that you should be going to a "cocktail party" instead of listening to your entire Sallinen collection in order to make recommendations for my further listening pleasure. But, on this occasion, I will be magnanimous and wish you a nice time ;D
Quote from: vandermolen on September 27, 2008, 12:03:21 PM
Of course I think it quite unreasonable that you should be going to a "cocktail party" instead of listening to your entire Sallinen collection in order to make recommendations for my further listening pleasure. But, on this occasion, I will be magnanimous and wish you a nice time ;D
LOL ;D :D
Have got 6 Sallinen albums, four BIS and one Naxos and one CPO.
I am no sound engineer and am of limited experience, but something of the crispness and clarity of the CPO Symphonies 1,7, Chorali, and King Lear that keep me coming back to them over the BIS discs time after time. There isn't much in it, I can only say the CPO is just a bit more 'shiny' than the BIS.
The Naxos has a fine life of its own too, but their publishing of Sallinen is less prolific, which is a shame because this is beautiful:
(http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/9/7/9/1/401979_170x170.jpg)
Quote from: mahler10th on September 27, 2008, 12:42:13 PM
Have got 6 Sallinen albums, four BIS and one Naxos and one CPO.
I am no sound engineer and am of limited experience, but something of the crispness and clarity of the CPO Symphonies 1,7, Chorali, and King Lear that keep me coming back to them over the BIS discs time after time. There isn't much in it, I can only say the CPO is just a bit more 'shiny' than the BIS.
The Naxos has a fine life of its own too, but their publishing of Sallinen is less prolific, which is a shame because this is beautiful:
(http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/9/7/9/1/401979_170x170.jpg)
Didn't know there was anything on Naxos; thanks. I am enjoying Symphony No 8 a lot and will probably look out for Symphony No 4 next.
Has anyone heard The King Goes Forth to France? A friend was telling me about the production in Santa Fe in the mid-1980s, which sounded interesting, but I am curious about the recording of it below.
--Bruce
Quote from: vandermolen on September 27, 2008, 12:03:21 PM
Of course I think it quite unreasonable that you should be going to a "cocktail party" instead of listening to your entire Sallinen collection in order to make recommendations for my further listening pleasure. But, on this occasion, I will be magnanimous and wish you a nice time ;D
Very well...I am returned(in body at least ;D) so I shall attempt to respond :) I had forgotten how potent some cocktails can be.....masquerading under these innocent sounding names with words like 'strawberry' in them but, in reality............ :-X
Sallinen-yes, my Sallinen collection...I have Symphony No.1 and Symphony No.3(BIS CD-41-Okko Kamu)-you've got that one I think and the recordings are from 1972 and 1975 respectively;
Symphonies Nos. 1 nd 7 "The Dreams of Gandalf"(CPO 918-2-Ari Rasilainen)-gives you a much more modern recording of No.1 and the only version of No.7, although, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the 7th
Symphonies Nos. 2 and 6 'From a New Zealand Diary'(BIS CD-511-Okko Kamu)-No.2 is a favourite of mine although it is a short piece and its subtitle 'Symphonic Dialogue for Solo Percussion Player and Orchestra' gives a better idea of its real nature
Nos. 2 and 4(CPO 969-2-Ari Rasilainen)- this is worth getting too and the you get the excellent Horn Concerto as a coupling
Symphony No.4 and Symphony No.5(BIS CD-607-James DePriest)-that's a coupling I would strongly recommend, two fine symphonies in excellent performances, No.4 is a really powerful, grim piece;
Nos. 4 and 5 again(this time Finlandia-Okko Kamu)-older versions and may no longer be available but coupled with an excellent performance of the good Cello Concerto(Arto Noras)
No.8(CPO 972-2-Rasilainen)-only recording of No.8 and a good modern recording of the Violin Concerto, a work which is also available on BIS CD-560
The Ondine cd with the Songs of Life and Death and the Iron Age Suite is a must as well(ODE844-2)
The CPO disc with three of the Chamber Music pieces is less essential perhaps but that's just me......
So....if you have got Nos. 1 and 8, I would go for Nos. 2 and 6(BIS) and 4 and 5(BIS) or Nos. 2 and 4(CPO). Performances are generally good and there is inmo not much between the BIS and CPO to make much of a difference. Trouble is, if you're like me, you will end up wanting both to get all the symphonies, haha :)
Apologies for my semi-drunken ramblings :) :) :)
Thanks Colin, very helpful (albeit clearly written under the influence of 15 or so cocktails ;D) I think that I will go for Symphony No 4 and 5 on BIS next. No 4's grimness should appeal to my sense of impending catastrophe.
Thanks again
Jeffrey
To quote myself from the trhread on Scandinavian and Finnish composers:
Quote from: erato on June 08, 2008, 11:11:35 PM
I was recently hugely impressed by Sallinens 4th symphony, stark, original (though obviously indebted to late Sibelius) and powerful.
This is the cpo recording, very fine sound, too. I am working my way through the cpo cycle and have 3 of their 4 issues. No 4 is the symphony I like the most, though.
I should have added in my long post above that the 3rd symphony is a magical work too! It was written by Sallinen while he was living on an island in the Baltic and it is very redolent of the sea. In addition to the influences of Shostakovich and Stravinsky one hears the Britten of the bleak East Anglian coastline.
Recommended also therefore :)
I've been listening to Aulis Sallinen recently and have been fascinated by his symphonies, to varying degrees. Sallinen is Finnish, so comparisons to Sibelius are obligatory, although I hear very little relationship between their sound worlds. So far I have heard 3, 4 and 5 from the cpo series. Of these 3 was probably the one that impressed me most, it is mostly constructed of small fragments of melodies that seem to coalesce into a grander structure, creating some wonderful sonoroties and ominous harmonies along the way. Symphony 5 is called Washington Mosaics, and has three striking intermezzi which are the most interesting part for me, full of enchanting sonorities an orchestral textures. No 4 seems to be the most lighthearted that I have heard so far. In any case, I thought I would share my impressions and not that I plan to continue listening through the cpo series of recordings.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515YRJV3WNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
A good place to start. This CD made it into the Fanfare "Hall of Fame" if that matters. Yeah, you duplicate if you start collecting the CPO series. All part of collecting the damn things. It is a gorgeous CD.
http://www.amazon.com/Aulis-Sallinen-Sinfonia-Chorali-Sebastian/dp/B00000166E (http://www.amazon.com/Aulis-Sallinen-Sinfonia-Chorali-Sebastian/dp/B00000166E)
There was also a "Meet the Composer" 2-CD set on Finlandia, and I've been collecting the CPO series.
I don't think I've been disappointed by any Sallinen. He writes high quality stuff.
Quote from: Daverz on January 31, 2011, 12:51:17 PM
I don't think I've been disappointed by any Sallinen. High writes high quality stuff.
I'll second that. I've got the symphony series on cpo, and I'm looking to collect more.
Quote from: erato on January 31, 2011, 02:05:43 PM
I'll second that. I've got the symphony series on cpo, and I'm looking to collect more.
Just ordered the remaining two items in the cpo symphony cycle (releases including symphonies 1, 7 and 8 ) at a cost which is not too painful. Looking forward to hearing them (although one is on backorder so it may be a while).
Quote from: vandermolen on September 27, 2008, 11:25:49 PM
Thanks Colin, very helpful (albeit clearly written under the influence of 15 or so cocktails ;D) I think that I will go for Symphony No 4 and 5 on BIS next. No 4's grimness should appeal to my sense of impending catastrophe.
Thanks again
Jeffrey
Yea, BIS 4-5.
Here's that Meet the Composer set at Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Composer-Sallinen-Aulis/dp/B0000252WN
Depressing to see all of those Finlandia recordings out of print. On a brighter note, is this one any good?
[asin]B0000014F3[/asin]
Comments?
Quote from: Scarpia on February 02, 2011, 12:18:16 PM
Depressing to see all of those Finlandia recordings out of print. On a brighter note, is this one any good?
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000014F3.01.L.jpg)
Comments?
I don't know, but how can you go wrong with Okko Kamu?
Quote from: Daverz on February 02, 2011, 01:26:38 PM
I don't know, but how can you go wrong with Okko Kamu?
Good point!
Well, I've discovered the first Sallinen piece that I didn't enjoy, Symphony No 2. That's the one that is essentially percussion concerto. I might have like it, but cpo really exaggerated the percussion, so that it sounded like a Led Zeppelin Drum solo in parts. Too bad, because there was some fascinating music in between the boom-boom parts. :(
Seems like I'm on my own in my exploration of Sallinen. Listened to his cello concerto today, and found it a magnificent piece on first listen. The coherence of the piece is maintained through the continuous development of various musical motifs as the music develops. The long first movement is very expressive, starting in a lyrical vein, and progressing through several climaxes to an off-kilter funeral march. The short second movement is full of insuppressible high spirits.
A quick listen to the first movement of the symphony no 6 reveals lots of awesome sonorities. Will have to postpone a careful listen of that work to another time.
[asin]B002O2MCN0[/asin]
For some reason, sellers are discounting it dramatically on amazon.com
CPO has finally released the complete symphonies and concertos in a box, (http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//7776402.htm) though I don't know if Sallinen is done writing symphonies or concertos.
I'm a big admirer of the cello concerto (have the old Arto Noras recording on Finlandia), but really didn't warm up to the 6th symphony from the BIS recording. Maybe I'll give Rasilainen a try, though I've generally found the older BIS recordings interpretatively more interesting than the cpo remakes.
Just bought this CPO set:
[asin] B004P96WQ8[/asin]
And this Ondine recording:
[asin] B00000378D[/asin]
I'm really looking forward to digging into this composer's music.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 04, 2011, 10:43:15 AM
I'm really looking forward to digging into this composer's music.
Good choices. I think it's time for me to revisit
Songs of Life and Death. It's like a modern, Finnish analog of the Brahms requiem.
Quote from: Velimir on July 04, 2011, 11:20:15 AM
Good choices. I think it's time for me to revisit Songs of Life and Death. It's like a modern, Finnish analog of the Brahms requiem.
Yes,
Songs of Life and Death seemed to come highly recommended to newcomers of Sallinen's music here on GMG.