Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: The Swan of Tuonela (No. 2) (Tuonelan joutsen)

“Both interpretations have impressive strengths, with Berglund's familiar and admirable no-nonsense directness everywhere in evidence, and with much fine and vividly focused orchestral playing to match...The special experience here is Berglund's unlingering, atmospheric way with The Swan of Tuonela, whose cor anglais solo - flowingly and beautifully phrased, and flawlessly in tune - is as spellbinding as you'll ever hear.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***

“Berglund's earlier recordings are undoubtedly the more consistent and enduring readings but this new disc casts a different light on his views of these great works. Nicely remastered” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012

“Gibson was a much under-recorded conductor, so this reissue of his tight-reined, yet sweepingly intense way with early Sibelius is especially welcome. The RPO responds to him in classy style.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 ****

“Massive, craggy performances which testify to Karajan's exceptional rapport with Sibelius. Many may prefer the less ponderous, airier tempos of Vänska, Beecham or Gibson, and En Saga's build-up is rather calculated, but Tapiola's storm gathers with unequalled power.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2006 *****

“Superlative performances and the excellence of the recording, extraordinarily vivid and realistic, cannot be too strongly emphasised.” Gramophone Magazine

“Very impressive indeed. Somehow one feels that one could stretch out and touch the players, so vivid is the sound here. In the Peer Gynt movements, there's much greater range and separation.
Peer Gynt is most beautifully done. At times you might think the wind could have been a shade more distant, particularly in the 'By the seashore' movement but there's no want of atmosphere here – quite the contrary! Not to put too fine a point on it, this is a marvellous recording. In the Holberg Suite, the sound has marvellous clarity and definition as well as exemplary range. For some tastes it may be a little too sophisticated but one's admiration for it remains undimmed. The playing throughout is beautifully cultured and there's wonderful lightness and delicacy.
The present issue is Karajan's third account of 'The Swan of Tuonela' and it's regrettable that he never committed to disc the four Legends in their entirety. It's as powerful and atmospheric an account as ever recorded, and the remaining two pieces, 'Valse triste' and Finlandia, reinforce the feeling that this partnership has never been equalled. The stirring account of Finlandia is incredibly wide-ranging – the orchestral playing is really in a class of its own.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Mikko Franck presides over the most intrepidly individual and pungently characterful performance of the Lemminkäinen Legends since Leif Segerstam's 1995 Helsinki PO account for this same label. Clocking in at an eyebrow-raising 53'48" overall, Franck's conception evinces an unhurried authority, a generous expressive scope and a richly stocked imagination remarkable in one so young.
Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island unfolds in especially gripping fashion here. Even more than Segerstam, Franck takes an extraordinarily long-breathed, flexible view of this heady tableau, imparting an unashamedly sensual voluptuousness to the secondary material in particular. It's a risky, impulsive approach, but one that pays high dividends in terms of intoxicating sweep, brazen ardour and, well, sheer daring. Both The Swan of Tuonela (which, in a refreshing change from the norm these days, Franck places second, according to Sibelius's final wishes) and Lemminkäinenin Tuonela combine dark-hued grandeur with tingling atmosphere, the latter's haunting A minor central episode handled with particular perception.
True, Lemminkäinen's Return lacks something in animal excitement, but its unruffled sense of purpose, rhythmic spring and sinewy, clean-cut textures serve up plenty of food for thought none the less.
The Legends are preceded by an uncommonly fresh En Saga, brimming with watchful sensitivity and interpretative flair, and once again studded with revelatory detail. Throughout, the Swedish RSO responds with heartwarming application and genuine enthusiasm, audibly galvanised by Franck's fervent, always invigorating direction. The engineering, too, is very good, without perhaps being absolutely in the top flight.
An auspicious recording début, then, from a young artist of clearly prodigious potential.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010