Therein lies the question of national identity and musical influence. It is therefore necessary to commence within the context of Russian culture and history. An emblematic figure of the classical musical world and a Finnish national hero.ĪNY DISCUSSION OF THE LIFE AND MUSIC of Jean Sibelius would be incomplete without a glance at the history of the land where he was born, the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the Russian Czarist Empire.
#SIBELIUS FINLANDIA SERIES#
And London has made this available as a midpriced 'Jubilee' series disc.Finlandia is a biography of Jean Sibelius, his life and times. His performances on London 430737 of the Second Symphony, Finlandia and Karelia are among the best ever recorded. Ashkenazy is one 'outsider' who seems to get Sibelius right. For something more closely approaching the genuine article, there is Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra on London. Therefore, it can be recommended (with the warnings noted) to those seeking a DDD Sibelius Second at very low cost. (Since it is so reasonably priced, I don't even mind that the total disc time fails to reach the 60 minute mark). In fact, at this price level, there is absolutely no competition for this CD. With the exceptions of a somewhat tubby lower register and lack of ample "air" around the instruments, the quality of the recorded sound can't be faulted.
![sibelius finlandia sibelius finlandia](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-yJC_ocvnRY/maxresdefault.jpg)
Performances aside, the sound on this budget-priced disc is impressive. The strengths and weakness of Nanut's reading of the Symphony are essentially mirrored in the Marko Munih -directed Finlandia. The result is a Sibelius Second which sounds quite fresh, but ultimately unauthentic. In Nanut's hands, the color is there but the ardor is lacking, which I attribute to the conductor not grasping sufficiently the Sibelian dialect. There is a yearning, an intensity, an almost unbearable passion burned into the finale which only the worst performance will fail to impress upon the listener. The incredibly original musical crescendo which Sibelius employs to bridge the third and fourth movements always emerges as one of music's most thrilling affirmations. Everything is a bit rushed, too, and shrill. "Vivacissimo" is the heading for the third movement, and here Nanut sounds more like an accomplished conductor of German music than of Finnish music. Much detail is revealed in the following movement, although the expression of the trumpet here is weak (I found the trumpet playing overall not to my liking aside from lacking the correct 'accent' for the music, the tone was rather nasally and vibrato-laden).
![sibelius finlandia sibelius finlandia](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBk8D-ERImU/Us1ftgxHBHI/AAAAAAAABcU/RA3dWXOFUOs/s1600/Sibelius+Monument+(1).jpg)
The opening allegro offers some fine wind playing, but is a little superficial. Clarity of line is one characteristic of their performance of the Symphony. Having made the point, I must say that on the surface Nanut and his orchestra give a pretty good account of themselves. Critical to any performance of these works are the orchestral attacks (including crescendos and diminuendos), section balances and sonorities – all which create a musical accent uniquely this composer's own. At any rate, Sibelius was not Tchaikovsky, nor was he Wagner or Debussy. "You simply can't perform the music properly without an understanding of and sympathy for the Finnish mentality", Petri tells me.
![sibelius finlandia sibelius finlandia](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/3-sibelius-pipe-monument-helsinki-finland-jon-berghoff.jpg)
#SIBELIUS FINLANDIA HOW TO#
This is an exciting prospect but do the Yugoslav musicians know how to "do" Sibelius?Īs our Finnish friend Petri Lehto has told us, getting Sibelius right is a tricky thing, especially for non-Finns. The Stradivari label has seen fit to record two of Sibelius' most well-known compositions, the rousingly patriotic Finlandia and the much more substantial Second Symphony.