The Snowshoed Sibelius

[Roasted Swan]

One of Naxos' free downloads for February (MP3 or FLAC format) is this interesting/well-played disc;



This series of Segerstam/Sibelius Theatre music is very good.

[Madiel]

It is indeed a fine series. I went for the box set as the best way to get a lot of music, some of it not recorded very frequently.

[vandermolen]

One of the best performances I have heard of the 4th Symphony, urgent, gripping, riveting:

[Brahmsian]

Believe it or not.....even though I have been listening to Sibelius for a number of years, this was my very first listening to this piece.  A lovely gift from John (MI).

Impressed by this work of Sibelius, and the vocal parts were more palatable than I was anticipating. 

Kullervo, Op. 7

[Florestan]

Believe it or not.....even though I have been listening to Sibelius for a number of years, this was my very first listening to this piece.  A lovely gift from John (MI).

Impressed by this work of Sibelius, and the vocal parts were more palatable than I was anticipating. 

Kullervo, Op. 7

A great work indeed.

[Lisztianwagner]

Believe it or not.....even though I have been listening to Sibelius for a number of years, this was my very first listening to this piece.  A lovely gift from John (MI).

Impressed by this work of Sibelius, and the vocal parts were more palatable than I was anticipating. 

Kullervo, Op. 7

I should revisit Kullervo, I admit I rarely listen to this Sibelius' work.

[Karl Henning]

Believe it or not.....even though I have been listening to Sibelius for a number of years, this was my very first listening to this piece.  A lovely gift from John (MI).

Impressed by this work of Sibelius, and the vocal parts were more palatable than I was anticipating. 

Kullervo, Op. 7

Great piece! And one of the first Naxos discs ever I bought, back when they were IIRC USD$4.99.

[Roasted Swan]

I should revisit Kullervo, I admit I rarely listen to this Sibelius' work.

I think it is a wonderful work but for me no version has ever surpassed the 1st recording - Berglund/Bournemouth SO on EMI;



Not so long ago I was driving somewhere and on BBC Radio 3 they were playing part of this work.  I made sure I listened to the end and was delighted that indeed it was this version because I'd sat through it thinking this is a really good performance.  Perhaps I should have recognised it - but I was glad my "innocent ear" still approved!

[relm1]

This new recording of No. 3 and 4 from Montreal/Yannick Nézet-Séguin is beautiful.  It isn't my favorite of either symphony, but it reminds me just how fantastic a composer Sibelius is...that it still feels so fresh and interesting every time I hear any of them.  One of the finest symphonists ever.  He's one of the very few composers where I can't stop wanting to hear more.  Yesterday I listened to his string quartets and found them so embracing.  Today a brand new recording of Symphony No. 3 and 4 that I've heard so many times and need more!  What makes him so engaging?  I think part of it is his balance of energy (No. 3 end) and introspection (No. 3 early).  His sparseness and fullness.  How epic he is and yet how personal. He's so conflicting.  A fantastic composer.  A bit like Shakespeare that is open to constantly being reevaluated and reinterpreted.  I adore him.

[vers la flamme]

Favorite recording of Sibelius' Lemminkainen? I don't know the work very well just yet aside from the famous Swan.

Would also love recommendations for recordings of Sibelius' piano music, if anyone is familiar with the stuff at all (what I've heard seems to recall Grieg's Lyric Pieces); as well as his string quartets.

I've been revisiting the Berglund/Bournemouth, slowly, over the past month or so. It was my introduction to the composer and still my favorite, though I think I have four full cycles now—more full symphonic cycle recordings than any other composer in my library save for Brahms.

[Brian]

I'll re-up this post from another thread about the piano music:

Following up with another favorite album that feels appropriately wintry.



Recorded on Sibelius' own 1915 Steinway, a gift from a collection of Finnish music fans, in the room of his house where it's sat for a century. The story of the piano is remarkable itself: Wilhelm Kempff visited Sibelius and played the 'Hammerklavier' at JS's request; a very young Isaac Stern visited and asked Sibelius to accompany him; Emil Gilels played through Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 for the Finnish composer; and Sibelius himself presented a recital to his family every Christmas.

For all those reasons, in addition to Folke Grasbeck's folksy, intimate, chamber-scaled performances, this is one of the two must-own Sibelius piano discs (with Andsnes). And the piano really is lovely.

In general Grasbeck is more "homey" and intimate, Andsnes more "concerty," but Andsnes never compromises the basic qualities of the music, from the romantic early works to the more enigmatic later ones. They would both go to my desert island.

I am a fan of a fast, exciting, wild Lemminkainen Suite, especially one where the famous cor anglais solo is integrated into the orchestra rather than spotlit like a concerto. There are not many on the fast and aggressive side in recent decades, but the mono Ormandy performance is a remarkable, fiery, exciting historic document in pretty great sound for its era (I think it's from 1953ish). On the opposite end, Mikko Franck on Ondine is incredibly slow (11 minutes slower than his labelmate Segerstam, who also has a lot of fans), but with loads of detail and insight unavailable elsewhere.

[Roasted Swan]

Favorite recording of Sibelius' Lemminkainen? I don't know the work very well just yet aside from the famous Swan.

Would also love recommendations for recordings of Sibelius' piano music, if anyone is familiar with the stuff at all (what I've heard seems to recall Grieg's Lyric Pieces); as well as his string quartets.

I've been revisiting the Berglund/Bournemouth, slowly, over the past month or so. It was my introduction to the composer and still my favorite, though I think I have four full cycles now—more full symphonic cycle recordings than any other composer in my library save for Brahms.

You won't go far wrong with Berglund/Bournemouth (make sure you add/have the same forces Kullervo as well).  Sadly they never made a Lemminkainen Suite.  But the same applies to many of the earlier great Sibelius conductors - so no cycle by Bernstein/Karajan/Barbirolli/Maazel/Sanderling.  The late Ormandy remake on EMI lacks the fire of the earlier set, Davis doing Sibleius in London isn't as good as the earlier symphony cycle in Boston but he didn't include a Lemminkainen set then.

So of the existing ones I suppose consider Gibson/SNO, Horst Stein/L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Jarvi/Gothenberg (BIS) or Vanska/Lahti (who includes the original versions but I seem to remember there was a recording issue so not technically BIS' finest hour).  Those are the ones I know but there are many others I don't!

[Madiel]

Mertanen for the piano music as a complete set.

[vandermolen]

Favorite recording of Sibelius' Lemminkainen? I don't know the work very well just yet aside from the famous Swan.

Would also love recommendations for recordings of Sibelius' piano music, if anyone is familiar with the stuff at all (what I've heard seems to recall Grieg's Lyric Pieces); as well as his string quartets.

I've been revisiting the Berglund/Bournemouth, slowly, over the past month or so. It was my introduction to the composer and still my favorite, though I think I have four full cycles now—more full symphonic cycle recordings than any other composer in my library save for Brahms.

Thomas Jensen's Danish RSO recording of the 4 Legends for Orchestra is my favourite version. It was for many years the only version that I knew (Decca Eclipse LP) but I think that it has a unique atmosphere. If you want a more modern version I enjoyed Segerstam's Ondine recording (with a fine 'Tapiola'). The Eloquence CD release of the Thomas Jensen recording includes an extraordinary cover image of Eduard van Beinum struggling with a hot potato in his mouth.

[Roasted Swan]

Thomas Jensen's Danish RSO recording of the 4 Legends for Orchestra is my favourite version. It was for many years the only version that I knew (Decca Eclipse LP) but I think that it has a unique atmosphere. If you want a more modern version I enjoyed Segerstam's Ondine recording (with a fine 'Tapiola'). The Eloquence CD release of the Thomas Jensen recording includes an extraordinary cover image of Eduard van Beinum struggling with a hot potato in his mouth.

Good shout - that must have been one of the very first recordings of all 4 legends.  I remember the Decca Eclipse cover but never owned that recording.  The first LP of the Legends I got was from my "home team";



back in the day when the RLPO hardly made any records.  Its good but not the most characterful......

[vandermolen]

Good shout - that must have been one of the very first recordings of all 4 legends.  I remember the Decca Eclipse cover but never owned that recording.  The first LP of the Legends I got was from my "home team";



back in the day when the RLPO hardly made any records.  Its good but not the most characterful......

I liked many Groves's recordings (Bliss: Colour Symphony for example) nice cover art

[LKB]

Favorite recording of Sibelius' Lemminkainen? I don't know the work very well just yet aside from the famous Swan...

" Justly famous ", l should think. My one chief regret from my years playing the oboe and ( occasionally ) Cor Anglais is that l never had a shot at the piece. Pity, as it would have been right up my alley. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

" Justly famous ", l should think. My one chief regret from my years playing the oboe and ( occasionally ) Cor Anglais is that l never had a shot at the piece. Pity, as it would have been right up my alley. 

Will have to revisit L.S. as it's been some time.  Re the Swan, I love a recording that I have of it with Stokowski from this set.

[LKB]

Will have to revisit L.S. as it's been some time.  Re the Swan, I love a recording that I have of it with Stokowski from this set.

I haven't heard Stokowski's recording, but l should have time to find it tonight if someone's uploaded it to YouTube. 

[Jo498]

I am neither an expert on Sibelius nor on the Lemminkäinen suite but I think it is worth to have/play all of it, not only the "Swan". IIRC I have three complete recordings, all of which were recommended by Sibelians: Kamu/Helsinki/DG (probably only findable as part of a French twofer "Splendeurs du Nord" coupled to some Karajan), Gibson/Scottish/Chandos, Ormandy/EMI. All are good (1970s, I think) stereo recordings.