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Cover: Jean Sibelius – Violin Concerto · Karelia Suite · Belshazzar's Feast

Jean Sibelius

Violin Concerto

Karelia Suite · Belshazzar's Feast

Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor

ODE 878-2 · CD · February 1996

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Track listing

10 tracks · 64:25

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

Jean Sibelius

  1. Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 33:33
  2. 1 I. Allegro Moderato 16:27
  3. 2 II. Adagio di molto 9:12
  4. 3 III. Allegro, ma non tanto 7:45
  5. Karelia Suite, Op. 11 16:59
  6. 4 I. Intermezzo 4:08
  7. 5 II. Ballade 8:12
  8. 6 III. Alla marcia 4:30
  9. Belshazzar's Feast Suite, Op. 51 14:22
  10. 7 I. Oriental Procession 2:42
  11. 8 II. Solitude 3:15
  12. 9 III. Nocturne 4:20
  13. 10 IV. Khadra's Dance 3:54

About this recording

This CD, Pekka Kuusisto's début album, features the famous Sibelius Violin Concerto. Described by The Guardian as "absolutely mesmerising", Pekka Kuusisto is one of the most cutting-edge violinists of his generation who performs with the major orchestras in the world and is acclaimed for his tone, technique, infectious enthusiasm and his imaginative interpretations. He embarked on his international career in 1995 at the age of nineteen, when he became the first Finn to win the Sibelius Violin Competition, including a special prize for the best performance of the Sibelius concerto.

This disc earned gold status in Finland and the Music Industries Association Award for Excellence 1996. Also featured are the Karelia Suite and the Belshazzar's Feast Suite. Leif Segerstam conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

The same recording of Sibelius's Violin Concerto was reissued twice, as part of a boxed set of the complete symphonies (ODE 1075-2Q) and coupled with the Second Symphony (ODE 1115-2).

Features

Booklet with liner notes in English, German, French and Finnish

Press

Ici, on touche le mystère, l'ambiguïté, les demi-teintes. La sonorité du violon est pure, claire et en même temps très nourrie (...), qui apprécie également la tenue de la ligne mélodique, qui lui semble infinie. Le second mouvement, doucement lyrique, et le finale, magistralement phrasé, finissent de convaincre (...), également (...) par la fusion du soliste dans l'orchestre de Segerstam.
Franck Mallet & Bertrand Dermoncourt, Classica / Qobuz.com, 10 Novembre 2010

Pekka Kuusisto (...) is a phenomenon: not simply in terms of technical wizardry but also in the maturity of insight.
Barry Millington, The Times, May 23, 2996

Pekka Kuusisto is special. A youthful player of old-time grandeur (...) his Sibelius - masterful, emotionally sweeping and mature - is a a knockout. (...) Here, you feel, is the real thing, an authentic chemistry of Finnish composer, soloist, conductor and producer.
Ates Orga, BBC Music Magazine, May 1996, Performance / Sound

The artists

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

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