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Gemini - Sibelius: Kullervo, Tapiola, Finlandia, Karelia, Etc / Berglund, Bournemouth So
Release Date: 11/11/2008
Label: EMI Classics Catalog #: 17674 Spars Code: ADD
Composer: Jean Sibelius
Performer: Raili Kostia, Usko Viitanen, Ida Haendel
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki University Chorus
Number of Discs: 2
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 2 Hours 28 Mins.
Works on This Recording
1. Kullervo, Op. 7 by Jean Sibelius
Performer: Usko Viitanen (Baritone), Raili Kostia (Soprano)
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, YL Male Voice Choir
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Finland
Date of Recording: 11/1970
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 71 Minutes 45 Secs.
2. Oceanides, Op. 73 by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1914; Finland
Date of Recording: 05/1972
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 10 Minutes 55 Secs.
3. Scènes historiques no 1, Op. 25 by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1899; Finland
Date of Recording: 07/1975
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 16 Minutes 24 Secs.
4. Tapiola, Op. 112 by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1926; Finland
Date of Recording: 05/1972
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 18 Minutes 10 Secs.
5. Finlandia, Op. 26 by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: Finland
Date of Recording: 01/1972
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 8 Minutes 2 Secs.
Notes: Composition written: Finland (1899 - 1900).
6. Karelia Suite, Op. 11: no 1, Intermezzo by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1893; Finland
Date of Recording: 01/1972
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 4 Minutes 3 Secs.
7. Serenades (2) for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 69 by Jean Sibelius
Performer: Ida Haendel (Violin)
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1912-1913; Finland
Date of Recording: 07/1976
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 13 Minutes 39 Secs.
8. Karelia Suite, Op. 11: no 3, Alla marcia by Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Paavo Berglund
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1893; Finland
Date of Recording: 01/1972
Venue: Guidhall, Southampton, England
Length: 4 Minutes 53 Secs.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was Finland's greatest composer and the most powerful symphonist to have come from Scandinavia. Eight years before his first of the seven numbered symphonies was written he composed the five movement work entitled Kullervo based on the Finnish national literary epic, from which he took so much inspiration, the Kalevala. Scored for two soloists, male chorus and orchestra it established him overnight as a leading musical figure. Paavo Berglund made a detailed study of the score and his recording in November 1970 made with Finnish singers but with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, of which he was musical director, was revelatory inspiring many other conductors to perform and record this major work. The set is completed by three tone poems – the ever popular Finlandia, The Oceanides and his final completed work, Tapiola – the first suite of Scènes historiques, two movements from the Karelia Suite and the two Serenades for Violin and Orchestra in which Ida Haendel is the soloist.
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Disc 1 of this generous Sibelius collection features Paavo Berglund's classic 1970 recording of the sprawling Kullervo Symphony. For many years the only one in the catalog, this performance remains an engrossing experience even after three decades. Berglund's vital conducting, combined with edge-of-the-seat playing by the Bournemouth Symphony and impassioned singing by the soloists (especially baritone Usko Viitanen) and choir, creates a wonderfully raw atmosphere for this dark and dramatic work. Later recordings, such as Neeme Järvi's with the Gothenberg Symphony and Berglund's Helsinki remake (last available on EMI Matrix) do offer fuller, wider-ranging sound; but this one crackles with the excitement of first discovery.
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The second disc is packed full of Sibelius tone poems and incidental music. The Oceanides, sort of a condensed La Mer, receives a lush, colorful reading that builds nicely to a climax that lacks only the overwhelming sonic amplitude of Järvi's BIS recording. Karelia is inexplicably missing its middle movement. Berglund's Tapiola takes pains to balance texture with tension (especially in those abundant divided string passages), and tellingly conveys the music's eerie mystery. Finlandia is its usual boisterous self, though in a more refined vein than Ashkenazy's ferociously raw reading on Decca.
The remaining items are relative Sibelius rarities: the delightfully quaint Scenes historiques and the two Serenades, played with much polish and panache by violinist Ida Haendel. EMI's remastering has improved the presence on these very well balanced recordings, which nevertheless carry a noticeable degree of tape hiss. Unless you already own Berglund's later versions, this collection is quite an attractive proposition.
--Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com
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Review by James Leonard
Paavo Berglund, the indefatigable advocate of the music of Jean Sibelius, recorded the Finnish master's early Kullervo Symphony twice for EMI, once in stereo 1970 and again in digital in 1985. The former, the work's recorded premiere, is the performance on the first disc of this two-disc set. In terms of timing, there are some striking differences and some even more striking similarities between the two. The opening movement is a minute slower in the earlier recording, the fourth movement is a minute faster in the earlier recording, and the second, third, and fifth movements are nearly the same length down to the second.
In terms of performance, the differences are even more striking. This earlier recording with the Bournemouth Symphony, while much less polished than the later version with the Helsinki Philharmonic, is far more ferocious. Whether this makes it better or worse is up to the individual listener and his/her predisposition toward Sibelius. Those who prefer him rough-hewn and Romantic will probably go for the earlier recording, while those who prefer him refined and controlled will probably go for the later recording.
The addition of a second disc of shorter orchestral works by the same composer may go some way to deciding the choice. Though Berglund and the Bournemouth do not turn in particularly persuasive performances of such well-known works as Finlandia or the Alla Marcia from the Karelia Suite, their readings of the two Serenades for violin and orchestra with violinist Ida Haendel and of the elusive tone poem The Oceanides are better than most. In sum, while this two-disc set may be mandatory for hardcore fans of Sibelius and Berglund, less dedicated listeners will probably pass. EMI's stereo sound is richly detailed and vividly present, but oddly two-dimensional.
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