Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4
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JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä
[ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD ]
Release Date: Friday 1 March 2013
This item is currently out of stock. We expect to be able to supply it to you within 2 - 4 weeks from when you place your order.
Symphony No. 1 is rooted in the symphonic tradition and has a particular tunefulness reminiscent of Tchaikovsky, whereas Symphony No. 4 is highly original and introverted, often being seen as modern and 'cubist' by listeners in the 1890s.
The Minnesota Orchestra and its music director Osmo Vänskä were highly praised for their previous release of Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 (BISSACD1986), being called 'a fine start to what may be the benchmark cycle for the 21st century' by Gramophone, and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.
Vänskä has really enhanced the quality of the Minnesota Orchestra since he took the position of musical director in 2003. He has since had his tenure extended many times and continues to carve an international reputation for the ensemble.
GRAMMY WINNER - Best Orchestral Performance 2014
"On a technical level it sounds impeccable. The polished string sonority, allied to trim woodwinds and meaty brass, gives the performances a completely different atmosphere to Vänskä's first Sibelius cycle with the Lahti Sinfonia" Financial Times, 25th May 2013 ***
"Vänskä's approach now seems more interventionist; he's less willing to let the music to unfold at its own pace, urging it forward. While that certainly results in a thrilling account of the First Symphony, it does make the brooding opening of the Fourth and some of its later climaxes seem contrived and stage-managed" The Guardian, 30th May 2013 ***
"exceptional: incredibly tense and energetic, yet teeming with detail. The orchestral sound, lithe and sparse, suits Vänskä's unsentimental approach. Look elsewhere if you want romantic bloom, but I find these crouching-tiger interpretations thrilling." The Times, 27th April 2013 ****
"Vänskä's latest thoughts on Sibelius are certainly worth hearing" MusicWeb International, 12th June 2013
"Another instalment in Osmo Vänskä's next-generation Sibelius cycle, turning from the poetic Lahti orchestra to the full-blooded Minnesota sound. And full-blooded the First certainly is...Altogether, Vänskä's new interpretations, sturdy and intense rather than richly Romantic, offer persuasive alternatives in a crowded market." BBC Music Magazine, August 2013
"The passion and sweep of the First...is even more electric than in Lahti...[in the Fourth] this most stylistically advanced of Sibelius's symphonies emerges equally well as a hugely powerful utterance. With superb sound as always from BIS, this new disc has set the bar for all to follow and past ones to be measured against." Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine, August 2013
Tracks:
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39
Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63
