Monthly Archives: January 2022

New CD from Fenella Humphreys and Joseph Tong

News,

A new recording of music for violin and piano by Sibelius bas been released by Resonus Classics, featuring Fenella Humphreys, violin, and Joseph Tong, piano.

Programme of the disc:
Four Pieces, Op. 78 · Andante cantabile, JS 33
Five Pieces, Op. 81 · Danses champêtres, Op. 106
Four Pieces, Op. 115 · Three Pieces, Op. 116

Resonus Classics RES 10294

This recording is supported by Sibelius One, in memory of George Steven.
We have a limited number of copies of this CD available for purchase by current members of Sibelius One at a heavily discounted price of £7.50 including p&p (UK only). We regret that the massive increase in administrative and customs formalities as a result of Brexit mean that we are currently unable to deliver to the EU or rest of the world. Supplies are strictly limited and orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for Members’ Discount page.

Joseph Tong writes: ‘The idea [for this disc] occurred quite randomly and spontaneously when Fenella and I met at the Presteigne Festival back in 2015. We were staying with the same host family and the conversation I remember quite naturally gravitated towards Sibelius, no surprises there of course, and we decided to meet up every so often to set in motion a Sibelius project and enjoy exploring all the amazing repertoire… The sets of pieces for violin and piano are curiously neglected, yet absolutely wonderful as we discovered. It was a pleasure to record them in the warm acoustic of Cedars Hall at Wells Cathedral School… the recording dates in late-October 2020 fell just before the next period of Covid restrictions. Not having many live concerts around that time made the whole experience of Sibelius immersion even more special.’

Lahti Sibelius Festival 2022

News, , ,

Lahti Symphony Orchestra / Dalia Stasevska (Photo: © Taina Räty)

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s 23rd Sibelius Festival will be held at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti from 31 August to 4 September 2022, with Dalia Stasevska, chief conductor of the orchestra, as its artistic director. The festival will be opened by an international guest appearance of the highest calibre, when the Estonian Festival Orchestra, consisting of European musicians, will perform on Wednesday 31 August, conducted by the renowned Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra will give three concerts at the festival conducted by Dalia Stasevska. The theme of the orchestral concert on Thursday, 1 September 2022, is ‘Flora and Fauna’, and the concert will feature Pan and Echo, the concert suite from Pelléas et Mélisande, The Wood-Nymph (melodrama) and Snöfrid.

The programmes for the orchestral concerts on Friday 2 September and Saturday 3 September were originally chosen by Jean Sibelius himself. ‘In Sibelius’s time, it was typical that the première of the new work took place in a concert organized by the composer himself. This allowed composers to present their other works as well. Sibelius was especially careful to ensure that his premières took place at concerts where the repertoire consisted exclusively of his own compositions’, explains Stasevska, and continues: ‘The Friday and Saturday orchestral concerts at the Sibelius Festival are programmes chosen by Sibelius himself from 1911 and 1927. These included the Finnish premières of the Fourth and Seventh Symphonies and Tapiola. These reconstructed concerts allow us an interesting glimpse into the music of Sibelius as presented by the composer himself.

As an innovation, a family concert, ‘Melody Forest’, will also be included in the festival programme, on the afternoon of Saturday 3 September. The festival concludes with another new kind of collaboration, at Lahti Church of the Cross on Sunday morning, 4 September, with a Keski-Lahti parish church service, the musical content of which focuses on the music of Sibelius.

The festival will also feature a piano recital, and the concerts are complemented by other events such as pre-concert talks. Further details of the festival programme will be announced later and ticket sales will start in February (date to be announced) via the ticket agency Lippupiste.

Programme listing: click here.

Sibelius One Magazine January 2022

News

The January 2022 issue of Sibelius One’s magazine is in the final stages of production and will be sent out to subscribers during January.

To add the magazine to your membership or order back copies, please see our Magazine page (click here).

Articles in this issue:

  • My 90 World Première Performances – Folke Gräsbeck
  • A Beautiful Silence, this Silence of Järvenpää – Leon Chia
  • New Sibelian discoveries in recent years – David Revilla Velasco
  • Harty Sibelius – Kornel Kossuth

Recent Sibelius publications from Breitkopf & Härtel

News, , ,

Breitkopf & Härtel has released more works by Sibelius in authoritative editions.

The critical JSW edition of Symphony No. 6 is now available, edited by Kai Lindberg. The catalogue number is SON 633 and the price is €140.00. To quote Breitkopf & Härtel’s website: ‘Symphony, symphonic poem, fantasy, or something else entirely different? For a long time while working on the Sixth Symphony, Sibelius was not certain what his new orchestral work was now about to become or what to call it. He had to interrupt work on the symphony time and again during the Finnish civil war and because of financial difficulties that forced him to earn a living with “little things”. So, it is not surprising that many small ideas for other works repeatedly culminated in the Sixth. In a letter to a friend, he describes his early ideas for the work: “The 6th symphony is wild and turbulent in character. Gloomy with pastoral contrasts. Probably in 4 movements with a conclusion growing into a dark orchestral shower in which the main theme drowns.”’  Details and order page: click here.

As noted in a previous post, a volume containing all of Sibelius’s five major works for piano trio plus some shorter pieces has been released (SON 631). A full review of this volume can be found here.

A number of works have been released as separate publications, drawing on the critically evaluated texts already published in the JSW series, but without the critical commentaries. These include:

Symphony No. 4, full score, from JSW SON 635: Partitur-Bibliothek 5694
Also available as study score: PB 3326

Valse triste, full score: PB 5704

Four Part-Songs from Op. 18 for mixed choir a cappella (Sortunut ääni; Venematka; Saarella palaa; Sydämeni laulu): Chor-Bibliothek 5372

Two Part-Songs, Op. 65, for mixed choir a cappella (Män från slätten och havet; Kallion kirkon kellosävel): ChB 5373

Finlandia Hymn from Op. 26, for mixed choir a cappella: ChB 5371

Malinconia, Op. 20, for cello and piano: Edition Breitkopf 9391