JEAN SIBELIUS EDITION (7 CDS) WARNER CLASSICS

Sibelius’ personal choice for the recordings of symphonies No.s 1 and 2, made in London in 1930 with the Orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society, and which were followed by the recordings of No.s 3 and 5 in 1932. Symphony No 4 is conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham (with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1937), while Symphony No 7 is conducted by Serge Koussevitzky (a live recording with the BBC Symphony in London 1933). After Kajanus died in 1933, Sibelius said: “Of the men who play my music today, and whose performances I have heard, I prefer Beecham and Koussevitzky. Of Koussevitzky I have heard only the Seventh Symphony records published by the Sibelius Society, but with those I am entirely delighted. Beecham’s performances have come to me by wireless [radio], and they are superb. He is a remarkable man. It gives me the deepest pleasure and satisfaction to see how great an interest he takes in my music and to know that it is he who is playing so much of music to the British public.” Both Beecham and Koussevitzky were powerful advocates of the composer’s music – Beecham in the UK and on his international tours, Koussevitzky in the US as chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for 25 years. Symphony No 6 is conducted by Georg Schneevoigt – a Finn and a close friend of Sibelius, who also leads the performance of the tone poem Luonnotar, which features the soprano Helmi Liukkonen; drawing like the majority of Sibelius’ tone poems on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, it is a stunning piece that describes the creation of the world. In addition to these works, this box offers much more of the ‘essential Sibelius’: the Violin Concerto, to which Jascha Heifetz (conducted by Beecham) brings his characteristic fusion of fire and ice; eight more of the tone poems, including Finlandia, which famously gave expression to Finland’s defiance of Russian domination at the time of it’s composition (1899); movements from the Karelia Suite; Valse Triste and extracts from his music for Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande. Complementing these are a number of lesser-known works, such as the incidental music to Hjalmar Procopé’s play Belshazzar’s Feast, the string quartet “Voces intimae” and several small-scale pieces for piano, violin, cello and voice. Other performers featured in the box include: the Budapest String Quartet, the soprano Auliki Rautavaara, the violinist Emil Telmányi, the pianists Eileen Joyce and Gerald Moore and the Orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society, the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra and Stockholm Opera House Orchestra. The legendary producer Walter Legge was a driving force behind many of the most celebrated recordings in this box, and he was personally in charge of the recording sessions with Sir Thomas Beecham. His exacting standards have been reflected in the new or recent digital remasterings – from best sources than ever at Abbey Road Studio – of all these recordings.

Symphony No. 1 In E Minor, Op. 39
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – Orchestra Of The Royal Philharmonic Society*
1-1 I. Andante, Ma Non Troppo – Allegro Energico 10:10
1-2 II. Andante (Ma Non Troppo Lento) 8:51
1-3 III. Scherzo: Allegro Ma Non Troppo 4:44
1-4 IV. Finale (Quasi Una Fantasia) 11:38
Symphony No. 2 In D, Op. 43
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – Orchestra Of The Royal Philharmonic Society*
1-5 I. Allegretto 8:22
1-6 II. Tempo Andante, Ma Rubato 12:55
1-7 III. Vivacissimo 5:21
1-8 IV. Finale: Allegro Moderato 12:20
Symphony No. 3 In C, Op. 52
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra*
2-1 I. Allegro Moderato 10:10
2-2 II. Andantino Con Moto, Quasi Allegretto 11:10
2-3 III. Moderato – Allegro (Ma Non Tanto) 8:24
Symphony No. 5 In E Flat, Op. 82
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra*
2-4 I. Tempo Molto Moderato – Largemente – Allegro Moderato – Presto 11:46
2-5 II. Andante Mosso, Quasi Allegretto 8:20
2-6 III. Allegro Molto – Un Pochettino Largamente 9:20
Karelia Suite Op. 11
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – Orchestra Of The Royal Philharmonic Society*
2-7 I. Intermezzo 3:37
2-8 II. Alla Marcia 4:13
2-9 March Of The Finnish Jaeger Battalion Op. 91a
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
3:08
2-10 Andante Festivo (1924)
Conductor – Jean Sibelius
Orchestra – Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra*
6:57
3-1 Pohjola’s Daughter Op. 49
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra*
12:29
Belshazzar’s Feast – Suite, Op. 51
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra*
3-2 I. Oriental Procession 2:35
3-3 II. Solitude 3:45
3-4 III. Night Music 4:37
3-5 IV. Khadra’s Dance 3:39
3-6 Tapiola Op. 112
Conductor – Robert Kajanus
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra*
17:46
3-7 Night Ride And Sunset Op. 55
Conductor – Sir Adrian Boult
Orchestra – BBC Symphony Orchestra
13:37
3-8 The Oceanides Op. 73
Conductor – Sir Adrian Boult
Orchestra – BBC Symphony Orchestra
8:06
3-9 Romance In C, Op. 42
Conductor – Sir Adrian Boult
Orchestra – BBC Symphony Orchestra
6:42
Symphony No. 4 In A Minor, Op. 63
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
4-1 I. Tempo Molto Moderato, Quasi Adagio 10:00
4-2 II. Allegro Molto Vivace 4:09
4-3 III. Il Tempo Largo 9:36
4-4 IV. Allegro 8:38
4-5 The Bard Op. 64
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
7:11
The Tempest – Incidental Music, Op. 109
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
4-6 Prelude 6:33
4-7 Suite No. 1 – I. The Oak Tree 3:21
4-8 Suite No. 1 – II. Humoresque 1:02
4-9 Suite No. 1 – III. Caliban’s Song 1:21
4-10 Suite No. 1 – VII. Intrada – Berceuse 2:26
4-11 Suite No. 2 – IV. Prospero 1:32
4-12 Suite No. 2 – VII. Miranda 2:02
Pelléas Et Mélisande – Incidental Music, Op. 46
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
4-13 IV. A Spring In The Park 2:31
4-14 VIII. Entr’acte 3:05
4-15 IX. Death of Mélisande 6:27
4-16 In Memoriam Funeral March Op. 59
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
9:07
5-1 Luonnotar Op. 70
Conductor – Georg Schnéevoigt
Orchestra – Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Soprano Vocals – Helmi Liukkonen
8:48
Symphony No. 6 In D Minor, Op. 104
Conductor – Georg Schnéevoigt
Orchestra – Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
5-2 I. Allegro Molto Moderato 8:13
5-3 II. Allegretto Moderato 5:28
5-4 III. Poco Vivace 2:50
5-5 IV. Allegro – Allegro Assai 9:22
Symphony No. 7 In C, Op. 105
Conductor – Serge Koussevitzky
Orchestra – BBC Symphony Orchestra
5-6 Adagio – 7:53
5-7 Un Pochettino Meno Adagio – Vivacissimo – Adagio – 4:25
5-8 Allegro Molto Moderato – 3:41
5-9 Vivace – Presto – Adagio 5:01
King Christian II – Suite, Op. 27
Conductor – Armas Järnefelt
Orchestra – Stockholm Opera House Orchestra*
5-10 I. Nocturne 3:58
5-11 II. Elegy 4:07
5-12 V. Ballade 3:53
Violin Concerto In D Minor, Op. 47
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
Violin – Jascha Heifetz
6-1 I. Allegro Moderato 14:29
6-2 II. Adagio Di Molto 6:50
6-3 III. Allegro Ma Non Tanto 6:58
6-4 En Saga Op. 9
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
17:42
6-5 The Return Of Lemminkäinen Op. 22 No. 4
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
6:01
Scenes Historiques Op. 25
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
6-6 III. Festivo 7:01
6-7 Finlandia Op. 26
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
8:58
Kuolema Op. 44
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – London Philharmonic Orchestra*
6-8 I. Valse Triste 4:36
Karelia Suite Op. 11
Conductor – Sir Thomas Beecham
Orchestra – BBC Symphony Orchestra
6-9 I. Intermezzo 3:01
String Quartet In D Minor, Op. 56 “Voces Intimae”
Cello [Budapest String Quartet] – Mischa Schneider
Ensemble – Budapest String Quartet
Viola [Budapest String Quartet] – István Ipolyi
Violin [Budapest String Quartet] – Alexander Schneider, Joseph Roisman
1 I. Andante – Allegro Molto Moderato 5:20
2 II. Vivace 2:19
3 III. Adagio Di Molto 8:55
4 IV. Allegretto (Ma Pesante) 5:20
5 V. Allegro 5:02
6 Romance In F, Op. 78 No. 2
Piano – Gerald Moore
Violin – Emil Telmányi
2:53
7 Danse Champêtre Op. 106 No. 2
Piano – Gerald Moore
Violin – Emil Telmányi
1:44
8 Danse Champêtre Op. 106 No. 1
Piano – G. V. Vasarhelyi
Violin – Emil Telmányi
3:52
9 Mazurka Op. 81 No. 1
Piano – Timo Makkilä
Violin – Anja Ignatius
1:54
10 Auf Dem Herde Op. 115 No. 1
Piano – Timo Makkilä
Violin – Anja Ignatius
2:38
11 Malinconia Op. 20
Cello – Louis Jensen
Piano – Galina Werschenskaya*
9:05
12 Romance In D Flat Op. 24 No. 9
Piano – Eileen Joyce
1:49
13 Säv, Säv, Susa = Sigh, Rushes, Sigh Op. 36 No. 4
Contralto Vocals – Marian Anderson
Piano – Kosti Vehanen
Text By – Gustaf Fröding
2:54
14 Flickan Com Ifrån Sin Älskings Möte = The Girl Returned From Meeting Her Lover Op. 37 No. 5
Contralto Vocals – Marian Anderson
Piano – Kosti Vehanen
Text By – J. L. Runeberg*
3:17
15 Aus Banger Brust = From A Faithful Heart Op. 50 No. 4
Contralto Vocals – Marian Anderson
Piano – Kosti Vehanen
Text By – Richard Dehmel
2:14
16 Come Away, Death = Kom Nu Hit, Död Op. 60 No. 1
Contralto Vocals – Marian Anderson
Piano – Kosti Vehanen
Text By – William Shakespeare
3:24
17 Långsamt Som Kvällskyn = As Slowly As The Evening Sky Op. 61 No. 1
Contralto Vocals – Marian Anderson
Piano – Kosti Vehanen
Text By – K. A. Tavaststjerna*