Jean Sibelius

The Essential Orchestral Favourites with Photo Album

Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor
Finnish Radio Orchestra
Jean Sibelius, conductor

ODE 1265-2D · 2 CDs · October 2014

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Track listing

18 tracks · 147:53

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

CD 1

Jean Sibelius

Karelia Suite, Op. 11 16:59
1 Intermezzo 4:08
2 Ballade 8:12
3 Alla marcia 4:30
4 Valse triste, Op. 44/1 5:42
5 Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 14:24
Lemminkäinen Legends, Op. 22
6 The Swan of Tuonela 9:55
7 Andante festivo (1922) 6:01
The Tempest, Op. 109
8 The Oak Tree 3:16
9 Caliban 1:24
10 Miranda 1:52
11 Finlandia, Op. 26/7 (1899) 9:15

CD 2

Jean Sibelius

Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 (1905) 33:33
1 Allegro moderato 16:32
2 Adagio di molto 9:12
3 Allegro ma non tanto 7:45
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 45:45
4 Allegretto 10:06
5 Tempo Andante, ma rubato 15:03
6 Vivacissimo 6:23
7 Finale: Allegro moderato 14:13

Product details

Format: 2 CDs
Release date: October 2014
Catalogue no.: ODE 1265-2D
EAN / UPC: 0761195126523
Total duration: 147:53

Performers

The year 2015 will mark a special 150th anniversary of Sibelius' birth. Ondine takes an early step to celebrate this occasion by releasing a special anniversary release Jean Sibelius: The Essential Orchestral Favourites.

The new compilation is an updated and expanded version of ODE 1037-2 released in 2003. The collection has now been expanded to two CDs, to include two maybe the most favourite masterpieces from the composer: the Violin Concerto and the 2nd Symphony.

As a special feature the 52-page photo album of the new edition includes several photos of Sibelius by the photographer Bertil Dahlgren which have not been released until now.

The collection includes the only surviving recording of Sibelius conducting his own music: Andante festivo recorded on the New Year's Day 1939 with the Finnish Radio Orchestra, a performance which was broadcasted live also to the United States.

All the other works in this collection are by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. The soloist in the Violin Concerto is Pekka Kuusisto.

Features Andante festivo with Finnish Radio Orchestra, the only existing recording with Sibelius conducting his own music.

Double digipak with full colour 52 page booklet, liner notes in English and Finnish, numerous photos including several previously unreleased ones.

Superlative performances by the finest Sibelius conductor around - exciting, searching, reflective, and excellently played.

Performance: , Recording:

BBC Music Magazine, February 2015

Pekka Kuusisto

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is one of the most versatile and distinctive musicians working today. Always demonstrating his extraordinary individuality and imagination, he is unusually free and fluid in his approach and has been acclaimed for the spontaneity and freshness in his playing. Setting Pekka Kuusisto apart from most other violinists of his generation is his desire and ability to improvise, and his love of playing many different styles of music, channeling the same intensity into each genre.

Full biography

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the first professional symphony orchestra to be founded in the Nordic countries (1882), has grown from a band of 36 players to an orchestra of 102 regular members.

Full biography

Leif Segerstam

Leif Segerstam (1944-2024) received diplomas from the Sibelius Academy in violin and conducting. He won the Maj Lind Piano Competition in 1962 and gave his first violin recital in 1963. He rounded off his studies at the Juilliard School in New York, where he was awarded a conducting diploma in 1964.

Full biography