The BBC Scottish and others play Sibelius

Don't really have anything new to add just yet, but wanted to save this from automatically locking.

Sibelians in the area might like to know that as part of Oramo's final season at the CBSO he will be doing a cycle in September. The concerts are all within a week of one another and details can be found here, here and here. Given how fond I am of this combination's recorded cycle (see towards the start of this thread), I'm seriously considering a trip down to hear some or all....


regards, Tam

BBC Radio 3 is repeating its programme on Sibelius' 2nd Symphony from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm today, 22 July. I missed it last time, so it must be worth a listen. The featured orchestra is the BBC Scottish.
Ken

quote:

Don't really have anything new to add just yet, but wanted to save this from automatically locking.

It's time the "powers that be" excluded the music section from the ridiculous practice of locking old threads!

I couldn't agree more. I can see the sense of the rule in the other rooms, but it serves no purpose here, and actually hurts the place to boot.

Have just been listening to a rather nice disc of more minor Sibelius from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under their then music director Joseph Swensen.



The disc, and being on Linn records, it's probably something of faux pas to mention it here (and more so that it is well recorded), contains Pelleas and Melisande, Kuolema, Belshazzar's Feast (I was previously aware only of Walton's much more glitzy take), The Tempest (suite no.2) and the Andante Festivo. None of which, I would have thought, are among the very finest of his works, so in some regards, it's a brave selection. Still, the orchestra plays very well indeed and it's a nice listen. I'm not sure I would have been tempted at full price, but for a fiver in a recent sale, a very good buy.

regards, Tam


p.s. It's just possible I may squeeze Ashkenazy in before the festival madness sets in, otherwise it will be September before any more CDs appear here from me (though I will report on the various festival Sibelius performances).

quote:

I'm not sure I would have been tempted at full price, but for a fiver in a recent sale,

Where? An on-line source or a shop?

Thanks.

Actually it was in my local branch of Blackwells the weekend before last (which also does CDs). They clear out their stock every now and again and half an hour digging through the disorganised buckets can turn up the odd gem (but they may well have sold, or got rid of, all the ones they had).

regards, Tam

Oh dear! The BBC Scottish performed Sibelius' Tapiola in the Prom tonight under Ivan Volkov. I was amazed. I had never imagined that this music could sound so thoroughly boring. Where was the thrill, the terror, the weirdness and the arctic chill?

They followed Tapiola with Britten's Piano Concerto, with Stephen Osborne as the soloist - so much better that it went some way to restoring my faith in this usually excellent orchestra. My enthusisam for Tapiola was restored by a quick blast from Ashkenazy (included in the complete symphony set).

Ken

Dear Ken,

As I think I mentioned much earlier in the thread (Volkov and the BBC Scottish played Tapiola in their concert series), I don't think Volkov is a natural Sibelian. I listened to the opening, remembered the concert and put on a CD.

Which is a shame, as I'd wanted to hear the Britten, I'll have to catch the repeat. Volkov and Osborne work well together - they gave a wonderful Bartok concerto at the festival a few years back (annoyingly I forget which one).

regards, Tam

Tam,
You did indeed question Volkov's Sibelian credentials. If you hear the Britten repeat, listen out for Osborne's encore. It's a little gem by Oscar Peterson. I don't know the name of the piece, so I'll look out for the repeat myself.
Regards,
Ken

If you've already read my recent post on the Edinburgh festival thread, there is little point reading this (as it is, essentially a cut and past job). However, I feel it should be on this thread too for the sake of completeness. Also, as I suspect a fair few people who read this thread do not read that one.

We are getting three Sibelius symphonies at this year's festival, of which we have had 4 and 3, 2 follows shortly.

The 4th, from Neeme Jarvi and the RSNO was the first. There was a real depth to the superbly played opening chords. The quality of the strings and the principle cello was particularly high. Jarvi's reading had a very dark feel to it, yet not in the edgy sense that often is present. He had good control of the orchestra and great delicacy at times. He also provided a strong sense of structure (something that eludes many interpreters) and held the tension well. What a shame then that as the magnificent third movement reached its climax the Usher Hall's fire alarms sounded (I am told by those who were there on Sunday that the hall currently has problems with running water to boot). Jarvi persisted for several minutes before, by dint of the fade up of the house lights and the recorded announcements, he was forced to admit defeat. Despite the poorly filled hall, it still took around 5 minutes to evacuate the upper circle which once more made me glad it wasn't a real fire as I'm sure were one to occur, anyone on the upper floor would be in trouble (presumably the will be addressing this when the hall is refurbished).

It is doubly annoying as this is the second time this has happened in the last year. Towards the end of the wonderful Mackerras/Scottish Chamber Orchestra reading of Haydn's Creation last October, we were forced out of the building. And I am told the alarm kept going off during last year's opening concert (Electra).

Still, 20 minutes later we were back in our seats and the Jarvi picked up where he had been so rudely interrupted. It is a testament to the professionalism of those involved that they resumed with every bit the passion and the inconvenience was soon but a memory. He capped the reading with a fine finale. Rather than bursting out immediately and dominating, the fourth movement's brightness emerged only slowly and never completely. The closing bars were suitably dark and melancholy.


This was followed a couple of days later by the third from Ades and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Ades did not hang about, indeed, if anything, his pace was a little too frantic. However, the orchestra held together. It was a reading of marked contrasts, as when he did choose to slow down, the tempi were as broad as before they had been brisk. This was also not a cold reading (whether or not this is a good thing will be a matter of individual taste, personally, I love the icy chill to which Sibelius's music lends itself, but Ades convinced with his warmer take). The slow middle movement, where so many readings get lost, was played beautifully and Ades brought out the different musical lines well. The finale was thrilling, though he could have found a little more of the sort of sweep that someone like Davis brings. Mr Flashlight approved this time - that was more like it, he said (or something along those lines).


Tomorrow we get Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the second. I can't wait.


regards, Tam

Jansons in Sib Two. You are lucky dear Tam! George Fredrik...

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
Jansons in Sib Two. You are lucky dear Tam! George Fredrik...

Yep and I'm even luckier - I'll be there too and accompanied by two lovely ladies from Finland !

Ian

PS ok one is my partner of 20 years and the other is her sister ....

PPS George Fredrik - is that going to be your handle from now on ? ( sorry couldn't resist)

Dear Ian,

I think I am going to try to eliminate my semi-alias. Really when I joined the Forum in 2003, I had a valuable set, worth breaking into my house to remove. What I have now would not be worth a cut hand, so why bother with trying to confuse any nefarious general reader - not Forum Members of course!

So if I can get it done I shall revert to my ful initials and sign off as George when this comes up. I once used to write a small column reviewing concerts for a local Herefordshire Newspaper. Only a couple of paragraphs - nothing grand - and my bi-line was inevitably GFH!

Kindest thoughts from GF

Well, Jansons really impressed in the Sibelius, as did the Bavarians. A full report will follow when I have a moment. I look forward to hearing them again tomorrow.

regards, Tam

So here's the amateur take on last nights EIF concert from the Bavarian Radio Symph. Orch. under Janson.

First up was "Also Sprach Zarathustra" from Strauss which was good at the beginning and at the end - frankly it is not my cup of tea musically.

The Sibelius (Symph. nr 2) began in a little bit low key way and the first movement passed without inducing much from my physiological repertoire of goose-bumps, hairs standing on end or lumps in throat. These to me are often the tells for whether I'm hearing something outstanding. I know it sounds a bit daft but this was a big ensemble (maybe almost 100 - with 8 double basses) and sometimes it felt there were just too many.

Anyhow all thst changed in the beautiful second movement which Janson et al seemed to really get into and flow along wonderfully. This cascaded into a third movement which built and built throughout. Here they seemd to be really playing as one instrument and with the same intentions. Captivating and fantastic - i.e. lumps in one's throat.

After an enthusiastic applause from the packed house they returned to play an unscheduled piece, the short Sibelius 'Valse Triste' (I think), which was very moving and very lovely.

They should have quit there.... but such was the clamour for more that they launched into some other Strauss-like piece of up tempo Oompah-oompah Lederhosen music which destroyed the ambiance of beauty they had created so well.

Pah.

Anyhow a very good night out.

Looking forward to hearing how the SF do with Tchaikovsky Symph. nr 1 on Wednesday.

Ian

If you've already read my post on the Edinburgh festival thread about the Bavarians' concert, this can be skipped (as it is essentially the same).

I don't entirely agree with Ian that the orchestra sometimes felt too big - true it had plenty of weight, but it never felt sluggish, and at times an impressive lightness of touch. I was also grabbed from the start of the Sibelius, but there we go.

The weight of this orchestra set the performance apart from the readings of the third and fourth from earlier in the festival. The playing was exceptionally fine and I thought Jansons phrased passages beautifully. He brought a control and, at times, impressive delicacy and if not having quite the sweep that Colin Davis would bring, found a nice ebb and flow. In this symphony particularly, though it holds for much of Sibelius, I find one of the principle axes along which interpretations can be judged is warmth: at one end would sit Bernstein's frigid Vienna reading, and at the other Barbirolli's sunny Halle performance. Jansons falls somewhere in the middle, generally on the warm side. The second movement was more impressive: rough and edgy, painting a vivid landscape as all the best Sibelians seem to, and yet with moments of exceptional beauty. He gave it a darker hue than the first. This was followed by an extremely exciting vivacissimo marked by exceptional string playing. Jansons built the tensions expertly and made a brilliant transition into the finale. And present here was a Davis-like sweep, a sense of grandeur and a magnificent frenzy towards the close firmly wiping the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's performance in their cycle last November from the memory. It seemed more thrilling than both his Oslo and Concertgebouw recordings, but then it's always unfair to judge a live reading against a CD.

For the encore we were treated to more Sibelius in the form of Valse Triste (and here I must come clean and admit my Sibelian credentials took a knock as I failed entirely to recognise it, indeed, from the dance like figure in the middle I mistook it for Strauss, my brother got it in one - excuse me while I hang me head in shame) which was sublimely played.

regards, Tam

I'll try and post this on the correct thread, this time.


Listening to Radio 3 earlier today, I caught a trail for Composer of the Week, which from Monday will feature Sibelius.

However, even better (as far as I am concerned), in Afternoon on 3 (annoying not in the evening concert, so I will have to tape it for later listening) we get a complete cycle of the symphonies from Oramo and the Finish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Can't wait!

regards, Tam

And the Oramo performances (so far I've only listened to Kullervo, the first and the second) have been absolutely cracking, at least to these ears. I wish the were playing them at a more civilised time (i.e. not in the middle of the afternoon when I'm at work). Infuriatingly my radio seems to have lost sound for around a minute, just around the transition between the third and final movements.

Still, anyone who's near a radio between 2 and 4 tomorrow and Friday, or has the facility to record, could do worse than take a listen.


regards, Tam

Well, aside from a loss of sound around the transition into the finale of the second symphony, the rest of the broadcasts lived up to the promise of the first and the seventh was particularly special in my view (a full report will follow after some more considered listening).

The same recordings (I think - it's difficult to be certain as the web page isn't in English) are available on the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra's website, except for those such as myself who are using a mac instead of a PC:

http://www.yle.fi/elavaarkisto/?s=s&g=4&ag=47&t=55&a=2167

regards, Tam

quote:

I wish the were playing them at a more civilised time (i.e. not in the middle of the afternoon when I'm at work).

Tam,

Why not listen on the Radio 3 website? You can hear programmes for up to a week after broadcast. I have just been listening to last Tuesday's broadcast of the 1st Symphony. If I wanted to hear it a few more times, I could record it on my hard disk and even burn it to a CD.

Get on with earning my pension and enjoy the Sibelius any time you want (up to 7 days).

Ken

Sadly Ken, I tend to find the quality of the listen again service so low as not to be worth bothering with - I wish the BBC would address this, but it doesn't seem terribly likely.



The week before last I was at the SCO's opening concert, and given that was an all-Sibelius programme, I thought I'd type it up:

The evening of the Friday before last found me sitting on a train to Glasgow, sadly not to take advantage of Donald Runnicles' debut as music director of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, for which I will have to wait another two years. But for another debut, that of Olari Elts, the new Principle Guest Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. This also marked the opening of the SCO's 2007/8 season and the start of a new series of posts dedicated to that season (since I've been foolish enough to buy a season ticket). Actually, though, that season ticket hadn't included this concert and I'm not sure I would have headed over to Glasgow, but for the fact this was an all-Sibelius programme. Elts is a young (36) Estonian conductor who should have good pedigree in this area, having won the International Sibelius Conductors' Competition in 2000.

The move to Glasgow and the nice City Halls venue had, apparently, been necessitated by the closure of the Usher Hall for refurbishment (which means all Edinburgh SCO concerts this season are being played in the smaller Queen's Hall). Apparently this programme required too great forces to be done there. If they say so, though apparently it will have no problems accommodating Mendelssohn's 3rd symphony or his and Tchaikovsky's violin concertos.

Elts opened the first piece, The Swan of Tuonela, very quietly. A novelty, for an SCO concert, was the sight of a timpanist in addition to Caroline Garden (who was playing the large bass drum - with which she produced a wonderful sound). He took a delicate, carefully sculpted approach, the orchestra's playing always very light and a little pretty. Indeed, it was rather too light much of the time, as was shown by the wonderful richness the orchestra was capable of on the rare occasions when he let them go. He brought a nice symmetry with the quiet end, and yet it would have been nice to have a little more edge to the playing.

This was followed by the violin concerto, with soloist Antje Weithaas standing in impressively at the last minute. Both soloist and orchestra produced a lovely string tone. Weithaas played with a real passion, accentuated by her angular bowing style. But this was in stark contrast to Elts' rather laid back accompaniment (though this did improve towards a rather exciting close). For the beautiful slow movement they seemed much more on the same page and Elts got a good balance between soloist and orchestra. One thing that begins to stand out is that he is clearly not one to go in for forte. The finale was good too, but Elts' passion didn't always match Weithaas's.

The second half opened with Valse Triste and Scene with Cranes from Kuolema. And he had tough competition since it is but a few weeks since Jansons gave the former in a wonderful encore, next to which this was very dull. The orchestra had a very thin sound, perhaps because Elts insisted on going rather slower and quieter than they could. His readings of both pieces seemed overly intellectual. The reception was decidedly lukewarm for a hall so full.

The concert closed with the 7th symphony. The start was horribly rushed, so much so that it took me a few moments to take it in. The orchestral sound was also rather nastily blurred and the big themes lacked emotion, although this improved somewhat after the cello theme. There were some annoyingly flouncing, Tilson Thomas-esque gestures. The first entry of the trombones, one of the wonders of this symphony, was spoilt by poor balance, managing, impressively, to overwhelm them with the rest of the ensemble. Frequently the music was garbled due to the speed and the reading hewed the work of the faster and slower contrasts its various sections usually provide. The lovely icy wind theme on the violins and other strings was devoid of any kind of chill. Again and again I found myself wishing Elts would slow down. Towards the end, as Elts built to one of the work's climaxes, he finally let the orchestra go for the first real forte of the evening, but the richness of the orchestra was transmuted into a musical cacophony. Again the trombones were drowned out, giving no sense of symmetry, but to some extent that didn't matter since the reading as a whole had none of the sense of journey that I find so key to this work. Funnily enough, though, the work's closing bars were well played and satisfying. What really crippled the reading was its tempo. It came in at less than 20 minutes. Bernstein's sluggish reading lasts just shy of 25 in comparison. But even compared with Oramo's 21.19, certainly not one to hang around, this is very quick.

All in all, not an especially promising start and boding ill for the rest of the season. The performance raises three questions for me. Firstly, how on earth did Elts come to win the Sibelius competition in the first place, though it must be said that these things are to some extent a matter of taste? Secondly, why cannot the SCO attract a new top notch conductor? Mackerras is still affiliated, as is Swensen, but the music directorship has been vacant since he left. They are a top band, one of the finest chamber orchestras in the UK, finding a really good conductor to lead them shouldn't present the slightest difficulty (any more than finding the top notch section leaders they have presently was, I'm thinking particularly of cellist David Watkin and clarinetist Maximilian Martin). And, thirdly, was buying this season ticket a hideous mistake? Well, I've only heard Elts in one composer, granted one he claims expertise in, so it would be premature to judge, but if the rest of his concerts aren't better, they will be an endurance.


regards, Tam

Ashkenazy's cycle gets off to a promising start with the first symphony. The woodwinds are wonderfully rich in the introduction and the standard of the recording is high. There is a lightness of touch to the reading and a real electricity to the strings. Tempi seem neither quick nor slow. Temperature too is somewhere in the middle, there is not the chill of Bernstein in Vienna, nor is that the warmth or Barbirolli. And the climaxes of the first movement are, perhaps, a little tame. Ashkenazy gives the andante movement a gentle start, and a chillier feel that the first movement. Again, there are some wonderful textures and there is a sense of drama that wasn't always there in the first movement. The scherzo is even better, with plenty of fire and some nice contrast between the fierce and calm moments. In the finale there is a nice sweep to the opening brass, though the orchestra is no longer quite so opulent. Ashkenazy finds a real grandeur and, even tragedy. A fine start.

It is coupled with the 4th. Ashkenazy gives it a weighty opening, but one that feels a little too sure for my tastes. And so it continues, some good playing, but often just too certain in a work that is, for me, always rather uneasy. The certainty (such as it is) only comes in the finale, and if it is here in the opening movements then there is less of a journey. Similarly in the second movement, of which he takes a somewhat light and sunny view. The third movement is something of a treat, due in large part to the orchestra's fine, lyrical playing, nicely weighted and hauntingly beautiful at times. Ashkenazy gives the finale a rather low key opening, then takes quite a brisk tempo. It is an edgier reading that usual, indeed, almost a reversal of a normal interpretation (where the edginess is at the start of the symphony). Again, the ensemble playing is excellently controlled. The result is more consistent reading of the symphony than most, but for me it just doesn't work.


Disc two opens with the second symphony. Ashkenazy gives a cold and lyrical opening with the tempo on the broad side. There is a nice sweep and a nicely visual sense. He seems to strike a good compromise between Bernstein's textures and the lack of flow his reading has. The second movement is a little bland next to the jagged climaxes of Jansons' recent live performance but the quieter moments are tender and beautiful, taken at a gentle tempo. The third movement is charged and reasonably exciting and yet just a little gentle and restrained for my tastes. Majestic throughout, he builds it well to the close, at yet there is not nearly as much tension as there could be to the transition. The majesty and sweep that have been there are missing from the finale and for the first time Decca's fine recording seems a little constricted. The climax is nice enough but I would like more fire. It is coupled with nice enough readings of Finlandia and Karelia (the middle movement of which is lovely).


Disc three brings the third symphony. Ashkenazy takes the opening briskly. The playing is nice but not really sharp enough. There is a wonderful depth of tone to the slower moments, but what tension has been built is lost the moment the pace picks up. He gives the slow movement a wonderfully rich, atmospheric and lyrical opening few bars but this promise soon goes in favour of something safer and laid back. There is a poor transition into the finale, which lacks tension from the start. There is a lack of both excitement and flow too. There is not enough drama or weight to the main theme and, as a result, the climax has little impact.

Ashkenazy is on surer ground in the 6th. The orchestral playing for the opening bars is stunning: wonderfully light, beautiful, gentle, tender. He keeps things light as the pace picks up - the orchestra feeling almost like a chamber ensemble. But in the darker moments he could use a little more weight. Things are more problematic in the second movement which, despite some nice playing, is a little bland and dull. The third movement is sluggish and too light for my taste. I'd prefer something rawer. There are nice moments, but it just feels unsatisfying. Similarly the finale is too light, too pretty. It becomes fiercer as it progresses but still feels tame. The beauty goes too. The ending doesn't seem to fit. Tapiola is the filler, but that too is rather dull.


The fourth disc brings the 5th and 7th symphonies. The former opens sluggishly. There is some fine playing (especially from the winds, once again), but Ashkenazy feels a little uncertain. There is a slightly odd and sour tone. The climaxes are a little garbled and confused. The tempo doesn't feel quite natural either - alternately sluggish and rushed. He creates some odd sounds at times - almost akin to tape drop out. there is no impact to the close. The sonic problems persist into the second movement. Again the reading feels unsure, hesitant in some ways. Whenever the pace quickens I find Ashkenazy confused. Too light much of the time and there is a very odd tone to the recording. He doesn't really build into the finale. Which launches with a headlong rush, less confused that earlier quick passages. Generally very light but in the main theme he feels clunky and awkward. The sound is horribly thin. There is little drama or impact to the climax.

The 7th opens blandly, but there is a more natural tempo and sound than on the 5th. There is some fine playing but things are still a little lightweight for my taste. It seems devoid of passion, for example the rather dull entry of the trombones, and arguably slightly muddled. In place of the icy wind-like textures we would get from Bernstein, we get repetitive scales from the strings. In the climaxes the sound is very closed. And while Ashkenazy gives plenty of volume at times, there never seems to be any weight. The return of the trombones is a little botched, it doesn't feel like we've been taken any distance at all. Finally he finds a little weight for the close, but it is too little, too late.

There is a 5th disc, including the violin concerto (which I don't know well enough to judge) and other fillers such as Valse Triste, Luonnatar and the Romance for Strings (with the Boston Symphony in place of the Philharomia), but none of these was enough to keep the set in my library. For me it is simply too dull, despite what at times is nice playing.

regards, Tam

Dear Tam,

Have you encountered Boult's BBC Legends [BBCL 4039-2] reading of the Seventh with the RPO at the RFH in 1963? It has everything! Fantastic playing, superb sweep and power, and for once a perfect lucidity about the syncopated bass opening! The very fine acoustic of the RFH allows for every detail to tell as well, which only adds to the sense of dedication in the music making. The audience are very appreciative at the end, as well they might be!

On the same disc come phenomenal readings of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Bizet's Jeux D'Enfants, and the Second Suite from Daphnis and Chloé by Ravel. It is a real winner!

ATB from George

Dear Tam,

I once heard Ashkenazy and Philharmonia playing the Second and it was the second most uncomfortable concert I have ever been at - at least in the audience!

In the bridge passage from the Scherzo to the Finale the syncopations got out, and the poor brass had nothing to fix their interjections to. It was a dreadful mess.

Obviously it was going to come back together at the first bar of the Finale, but I thought that if VA could not even lead a satiusfactory account of the most simple of cross-rhythmed passages then he was not much of a conductor, which appears to be your conclusion having listened to the commercial recordings. Such was the tension and nervous ensemble even before that that I have no recollection of what the performance was like beyond being terribly badly led on a technical level.

ATB from George

TAM and George, here in LA Esa-Pekka is about to leave, tho still live in LA, so not gone. Something about our wonderful city that expats have had an affinity for for a long time. Anyway, he did a Sibelius Unbound with all symphonies and a few others for his last year. He said growing up with S he tried not to do his works until this time in life. I only heard the 4th and 7th in a concert. 4th was very dark and the 7th quite wonderful. The orchestra is really phenominal.

A friend who is a trained musician, and my opera buddy, called after also hearing the 5th. He was bowled over by that one. Said it was electric and everyone was hanging on every note and the place went wild after the last chords. Wish I'd been there.

I'm glad that Sibelius is popular again. His work has that wonderful edge that bridges 19th C work and the 20th C that I love so much. Tho it's Finlandia that gets the most play on radio.

Next year we have the young Argentine Gustavo Dudamel taking over. I'm sure we'll get more Latin American focus, and it is appropriate for this city. He just had his youth orchestra here and the reviews were pretty great.