The ongoing Sibelius discography project has received another update. To download the latest version (free) click here: Sibelius_Discography_2017-12-11. For more information on the discography project and recent releases see our Discography & Recordings page.
Category Archives: News
Lahti Sibelius Festival 2018
Programmes and artists – including a guest orchestra and conductor – have been announced for the 2018 Lahti Sibelius Festival.
For more information about the music and about Sibelius One’s group visit to the festival, click here.
Finland 100
Sibelius One congratulates the Republic of Finland on its centenary, 6 December 2017.
Dedicated to Sibelius
At the initiative of Sibelius One members Doug Whittet and Rob Ebbers, a list is being compiled of musical works dedicated to Jean Sibelius.
The current list is shown below. If you know of additions or other relevant information, please contact Doug Whittet by e-mail (click here).
The list will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.
To download the list as an Excel document, click here.
| Composer | Work | Year | Recording | Comment |
| Bax, Arnold | Symphony No. 5 | 1932 | London Philharmonic Orchestra / Raymond Leppard (Lyrita) | |
| Busoni, Ferruccio | Orchestral Suite No. 2, Op. 34a | 1905 | BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Neeme Järvi (Chandos) | 4 movements each with different dedicatee (1st to JS) |
| Constant, Marius | Hämeenlinna: An Imaginary Landscape | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Englund, Einar | Ciacona | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Josephs, Wilfred | In the North | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Melartin, Erkki | The Melancholy Garden (for piano), Op. 54 | 1908 | Izumi Tateno (Ondine) | |
| Merikanto, Aarre | Theme, Variations & Fugue for orchestra | 1915 | None? | No commercial recording? |
| Musgrave, Thea | Song of the Enchanter | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Nørgård, Per | Aftonland (Songs from Evening Land) | 1956 | Helene Gjerris et al. (Dacapo) | |
| Picker, Tobias | Séance | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Rak, Štěpán | Elegy for solo guitar | 1987 | Štěpán Rak (Nimbus) | |
| Ruders, Poul | Tundra | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) | |
| Söderlind, Ragnar | Symphony No. 8 (Sibelius in memoriam) | 2005 | Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Fedoseyev (YouTube concert recording) | Quotes from Surusoitto; no commercial recording |
| Stenhammar, Wilhelm | String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 25 | 1907 | Stenhammar Quartet (BIS) | |
| Tüür, Erkki-Sven | Searching for Roots | 1990 | Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Paavo Järvi (Virgin) | |
| Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Symphony No. 5 in D major | 1943 | Over 30 available! | |
| Yuasa, Joji | The Midnight Sun | 1990 | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Sergiu Comissiona (Ondine) |
Lahti Sibelius Festival 2017 Review
The Eighteenth International Lahti Sibelius Festival coincided with the centenary year of Finland’s political independence. In a previous year forty percent of tickets were sold to non-Finnish patrons, so its claim of international status is well justified. As usual concert tickets and hotel accommodation had been arranged at a special price for Sibelius One members. Click here to read the full review by Geoff Hayes.
Discography updated 30 Oct 2017
The ongoing Sibelius discography project has received another update. To download the latest version (free) click here: Sibelius Discography_20171030. For more information on the discography project and recent releases see our Discography & Recordings page.
Coming soon from JSW
Announced as a forthcoming release in Breitkopf & Härtel’s JSW critical edition is a volume of music for solo instrument and piano.
Series IV, Vol 6 is edited by Anna Pulkkis and will include:
Two Pieces, Op. 2 violin & piano
Malinconia, Op. 20 cello & piano
Two Serious Melodies, Op. 77 violin/cello & piano
Four Pieces, Op. 78 violin/cello & piano
Six Pieces, Op. 79 violin & piano
Sonatina in E major, Op. 80 violin & piano
Five Pieces, Op. 81 violin & piano
Novellette, Op. 102 violin & piano
Five Danses champêtres, Op. 106 violin & piano
Four Pieces, Op. 115 violin & piano
Three Pieces, Op. 116 violin & piano
These works represent Sibelius’s complete opus-numbered output for violin/cello and piano, from the early Op. 2 pieces (revised around the time of the Fourth Symphony) through to his last opus-numbered pieces from 1929. Many of the pieces, including the famous Romance in F major (Op. 78 No. 2) date from the period of the First World War.
New CD release
New CD release from Sibelius One:
Hedvig Paulig, soprano
(winner of the 2011 International Sibelius Singing Competition)
Folke Gräsbeck, piano
‘The soprano Hedvig Paulig… is blessed with all that a singer desires: a voice full of beauty, precise intuition, a technique that seemingly easily takes her to clear high tones without as much as a blink as well as to the low tones, in which her voice turns full and warm. Paulig is also a real actress who expresses emotions in her songs from humor to mystic and grief. Her whole performance is full of charm…’ (Noam Ben Zeev for Haaretz Newspaper, May 2015)
‘The advocacy of Folke Gräsbeck [in Sibelius’s solo piano music] outstrips that of almost all earlier exponents.’ (Richard Whitehouse, International Record Review, May 2011)
A selection of 20 songs by Sibelius, including:
Den första kyssen [The First Kiss], Op. 37 No. 1
Var det en dröm? [Was it a Dream?], Op. 37 No. 4
Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte [The Tryst], Op. 37 No. 5
Illalle [To Evening], Op. 17 No. 6
Demanten på marssnön [The Diamond on the March Snow], Op. 36 No. 6
Click here for full track list (pdf)
Sleeve note by Ron Weidberg in English, Finnish and Swedish
Song texts in original language and English translation
First release – recorded 2016
Catalogue number: SCD 001
Available direct from Sibelius One
Prices (all including post & packing):
Sibelius One members: UK £10 / Europe £12 / Rest of world £13
Non-members: UK £12 / Europe £14 / Rest of world £15
To order:
Write to us enclosing a UK sterling cheque, payable to Sibelius One,
for the appropriate amount:
6 Chichester Drive West, Saltdean, Brighton, Sussex BN2 8SH, England
or
Order by e mail (click here to send e-mail) and send payment via internet transfer to:
Account name: Sibelius One
Reference: ‘[your name] CD order’
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For payments from outside the UK: Swift code NWBKGB2L
IBAN: GB88NWBK54102713655558
20 September 2017
Don’t miss the concert by the acclaimed pianist Joseph Tong at St John’s Smith Square, London, at 7.30 pm on 20 September 2017, marking the launch of his second Sibelius piano music CD.
The programme is:
Grieg Stimmungen, Op. 73
Schumann Fantasie in C major, Op. 17
Sibelius Valse triste, Op. 44
Sibelius 5 Characteristic Impressions, Op. 103
Sibelius Sonata in F major, Op. 12
Further information and booking: click here.
The new CD includes the above-mentioned works by Sibelius plus the three Sonatinas, Op. 67, Eight Bagatelles, Op. 97, and Four Lyric Pieces, Op. 74.
The previous CD in the series contains the following repertoire: Kyllikki; Five Pieces (‘The Trees’); Five Pieces (‘The Flowers’); Five Romantic Pieces, Op. 101; Five Esquisses, Op. 114; Two Rondinos; Finlandia (Quartz QTZ 2111).
Jean Sibelius’s Legacy
A new book, Jean Sibelius’s Legacy – Research on his 150th Anniversary (ed. Daniel Grimley, Tim Howell, Veijo Murtomäki & Timo Virtanen), has been published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
As part of the Sibelius 150th anniversary celebrations in 2015, a great number of Sibelius scholars gathered in Hämeenlinna, his birth town, for a conference leading up to his birthday on 8 December. This volume draws upon the most current achievements of Sibelius research. It brings together the diverse – and sometimes even divergent – viewpoints that emerged from this international meeting.
These studies cover all of the genres in Sibelius’ production: orchestral works, incidental music, piano and chamber music, and songs, including both well-known works and rarities, and even some fresh discoveries. The chapters in this book are also a welcome reminder of the manifold sources of inspiration: the music of his contemporaries, nature, literature, and visual art. The versatility of Sibelius’s output, and the richness of his creative imagination are presented here to any reader interested to learn more about the music of the Finnish master.
Contributors: Ilkka Oramo, Veijo Murtomäki, Jorma Daniel Lünenbürger, Martti Laitinen, Vesa Kurkela, Kaarina Kilpiö, Timothy L. Jackson, Juhani Alesaro, Sanna Iitti, Tim Howell, Benjamin T. Hilger, Pekka Helasvuo, Olli Heikkinen, Charris Efthimiou, Gustav Djupsjöbacka, Les Black, Barry Wiener, Tuija Wicklund, Ron Weidberg, Olli Väisälä, Timo Virtanen, Helena Tyrväinen, Aare Tool, Ferruccio Tammaro, Lauri Suurpää, Anna Pulkkis
Hardback, 360 pages / ISBN-13: 978-1-4438-9860-7 / ISBN-10: 1-4438-9860-0
Price: £64.99
More information and orders: click here.