Favourite Sibelius cycle

[richardfinegold]

I listened to the Stokie/National Philharmonia recording of #1 today. It is to bad they didn't do the whole cycle

[Black Swan]

i am revisiting Rattle/CBSO on EMI and loving them again. But am thinking that we might see a release of a new set of recordings by Sir Simon with the Berliners....

[BBMmk2]

i am revisiting Rattle/CBSO on EMI and loving them again. But am thinking that we might see a release of a new set of recordings by Sir Simon with the Berliners....

That be great!!

Thanks Cali. Sounds that the accoustics again at The Barbican are letting them down. Seems quite strange....

[visualnickmos]

i am revisiting Rattle/CBSO on EMI and loving them again. But am thinking that we might see a release of a new set of recordings by Sir Simon with the Berliners....

Interesting - I'm of the opinion that Sir Simon will record copiously over the next 10-15 years or so, peaking around 2020 - 2025, and that there will be a whole gamut of 'Indian summer' jewels to come..... just my thoughts.

[Ferretfancy]

There are two Sibelius works that I enjoy very much, but rarely hear performed. One is The Oceanides, a piece which Thomas Beecham thought very strange, but luckily he recorded it at the end of his career. It's certainly a strange and haunting poem beautifully realised by Sir Thomas. Interestingly Boult recorded it back in 1936 with the BBC SO, along with another neglected work, Night Ride and Sunrise.

The other fine work is the Lemminkainen Suite, generally only known for The Swan of Tuonela. I have a splendid 2 disk set of the tone poems on Chandos with Alexander Gibson conducting the Scottish National Orchestra and a separate CD of the Suite. Gibson seems to have been rather forgotten for some reason. His set of the symphonies is one to be reckoned with.
I notice that Ashkenazy is conducting the suite with the Philharmonia on 14th March at the RFH. Vadim Repin plays the Violin Concerto.

[makropulos]

I listened to the Stokie/National Philharmonia recording of #1 today. It is to bad they didn't do the whole cycle

It's a wonderful performance! But it would have been quite a challenge - even for Stokie - to record a whole cycle in his 90s :)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Gibson seems to have been rather forgotten for some reason. His set of the symphonies is one to be reckoned with.

Well, #s 13 and 15 were posted all of three-four days ago!

[Ferretfancy]

Well, #s 13 and 15 were posted all of three-four days ago!

Yes Ferney, I did see his name, but you don't hear his name mentioned very often, maybe he is better remembered in Scotland.

[HighlandDougie]

There are two Sibelius works that I enjoy very much, but rarely hear performed. One is The Oceanides, a piece which Thomas Beecham thought very strange, but luckily he recorded it at the end of his career. It's certainly a strange and haunting poem beautifully realised by Sir Thomas. Interestingly Boult recorded it back in 1936 with the BBC SO, along with another neglected work, Night Ride and Sunrise.

The other fine work is the Lemminkainen Suite, generally only known for The Swan of Tuonela. I have a splendid 2 disk set of the tone poems on Chandos with Alexander Gibson conducting the Scottish National Orchestra and a separate CD of the Suite. Gibson seems to have been rather forgotten for some reason. His set of the symphonies is one to be reckoned with.
I notice that Ashkenazy is conducting the suite with the Philharmonia on 14th March at the RFH. Vadim Repin plays the Violin Concerto.

By coincidence, I'm going to the Barbican next Wednesday when 'The Oceanides' is part of Sakari Oramo's BBC SO programme and I have earlier this afternoon bought a ticket for the Ashkenazy concert in the RFH in March. I have a great fondness for the Lemminkainen Legends which possibly stems from hearing the-then Alexander Gibson conducting the-then SNO in the Swan of Tuonela when I was, err, 10 years old. A very long time ago, anyway. The Okko Kamu recording of Lemminkainen is very exciting, ditto Mikko Franck, with the most recent Osmo Vanska release (albeit cobbled together from various recording sessions) as a rather more measured if no less impressive alternative.

[jayne lee wilson]

If you love The Oceanides, if you haven't already got the Lahti/Vanska recording then rush out and buy. Rattle and others do well with it, but his seems unsurpassable and the final climax beggars description! It just happens to be on a great BIS tone-poem compilation too.

Franck, Segerstam and other Scandinavians have made fine Lemminkainen Suite records, but for me the all-time classic is the stereo Philadelphia/Ormandy one. Quicker and sharper than most and very atmospheric, get the Toshiba if you can.

Night Ride and Sunrise - Rattle good, Sanderling exceptional, one of the highlights of a fine cycle.

I've been roaming around various Sibelius cycles, and among the highlights were Vanska's second, Minnesota Orchestra taping of No.1, which has an almost supernatural precision and bite, astonishingly virtuoso playing at high-speed, and stunning hi-res 24/96 recording too.
Like Makropulos, I'm very fond of Berglund's Bournemouth SO set, and the 3rd sounded wonderful yesterday, especially subtle and expressive in the finale before a terrific ending.
I know The Great Layton was never terribly impressed with Bournemouth/Berglund... one of the very few occasions I've found myself a little at odds with him.

**BTW, did anyone here buy the 2013 EMI remaster of the Berglund set? If so, I'd love to know the details of the remastering (including engineer's name) if any were given in the booklet...thanks!

[Bryn]

**BTW, did anyone here buy the 2013 EMI remaster of the Berglund set? If so, I'd love to know the details of the remastering (including engineer's name) if any were given in the booklet...thanks!

The remastering engineer is not credited. All items in the set are shown as having their remastering published in 2013 with the exception of the Intermezzo and Alla marcia from the Karelia Suite (2000), and the Nocturne and Élégie from King Christian II (1997).

[jayne lee wilson]

Cheers for that Bryn, thanks....

[Petrushka]

King Christian II.

Remembering the poster who had this as his nom-de-forum back in the BBC days. His enthusiasm for all things Sibelian was infectious and it seems that the I'm finally catching up.

Best wishes if you ever look in here, KCII.

[Beef Oven!]

By coincidence, I'm going to the Barbican next Wednesday when 'The Oceanides' is part of Sakari Oramo's BBC SO programme and I have earlier this afternoon bought a ticket for the Ashkenazy concert in the RFH in March. I have a great fondness for the Lemminkainen Legends which possibly stems from hearing the-then Alexander Gibson conducting the-then SNO in the Swan of Tuonela when I was, err, 10 years old. A very long time ago, anyway. The Okko Kamu recording of Lemminkainen is very exciting, ditto Mikko Franck, with the most recent Osmo Vanska release (albeit cobbled together from various recording sessions) as a rather more measured if no less impressive alternative.

Two wonderful tone poems. I would vouch for the (for me) newly acquired Anthony Collins, LSO Decca Eloquence for Nightride & Sunrise and Vanska, Lahti Orchestra in The Oceanides.

[richardfinegold]

There are two Sibelius works that I enjoy very much, but rarely hear performed. One is The Oceanides, a piece which Thomas Beecham thought very strange, but luckily he recorded it at the end of his career. It's certainly a strange and haunting poem beautifully realised by Sir Thomas. Interestingly Boult recorded it back in 1936 with the BBC SO, along with another neglected work, Night Ride and Sunrise.

The other fine work is the Lemminkainen Suite, generally only known for The Swan of Tuonela. I have a splendid 2 disk set of the tone poems on Chandos with Alexander Gibson conducting the Scottish National Orchestra and a separate CD of the Suite. Gibson seems to have been rather forgotten for some reason. His set of the symphonies is one to be reckoned with.
I notice that Ashkenazy is conducting the suite with the Philharmonia on 14th March at the RFH. Vadim Repin plays the Violin Concerto.

Although I had been pretty conversant with Sibelius music by the time my children were old enough to attend Grade School, I had never heard of the Oceanidies until their Music School teacher sent them home with the assisgnment to write a paper about it. He had played it in class that day (I should mention that I have triplets, so all of the kids were in the same music class). My children were flabbergasted when they discovered that I had never heard of it, because they thought my knowledge of Classical Music was infinite. It turns out the teacher's parents were Finns that had emigrated to the States and the Oceanidies was his favorite work of Sibelius, but in the days before streaming and you tube I could not produce a recording of it for the kids before their paper was due, and a check of the catalog at the time revealed that there were only two extent recordings, one of which was by Vanska which I susbsequently obtained.