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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Sibelius: Night Ride and Sunrise
While the beloved ‘Valse triste’ and ‘Scene with Cranes’ from Kuolema are virtually signature tunes for the great Finnish composer, much of Sibelius’s orchestral and theatrical music remains undeservedly less familiar. From the incidental music for the play Belshazzar’s Feast Sibelius drew four richly scored orientalist movements. The tone poems Pan and Echo and Night Ride and Sunrise respectively evoke the world of ancient myth and a nocturnal journey towards a Nordic dawn. A lilting waltz dances at the heart of the impressionistic The Dryad, while castanets enliven the light-hearted mood of the Tanz-Intermezzo, Op. 45 No. 2. “top-notch performances” Fanfare “As on this partnership's previous Sibelius anthology (see page 1076) the New Zealand SO respond with conspicuous poise and application for their Finnish chief. Inkinen's readings, too, show a real feeling for the idiom: phrases are shaped – and textures sifted – with fastidiousness and imagination, and he brings an abundant recreative flair and cogent grip to the task in hand, not least in Night Ride and Sunrise, whose elusive structure he binds together with a sure-footed skill that belies his tender years.
Moreover, Inkinen's luminous account of the suite from Belshazzar's Feast will have you questioning why such an appealing and highly evocative score is so seldom performed.
Elsewhere, rarities such as Pan and Echo and The Dryad emerge with a dewy freshness and ear-pricking sophistication that prompt a radical reappraisal. Inkinen even manages to breathe new life into the Op 44 diptych from the 1903 incidental music for Kuolema (the ubiquitous 'Valse triste' and bleakly beautiful 'Scene with Cranes'), and his alchemy extends to the two altogether more mundane numbers that Sibelius added for a 1911 revival of the play.
A disc, then, guaranteed to give pretty much unbridled pleasure. Naxos's sound combines helpful transparency with plenty of ambient glow.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “…Pietari Inkinen is a young conductor with confidence and talent to spare. Inkinen's readings… show a real feeling for the idiom: phrases are shaped - and textures sifted - with fastidiousness and imagination… Inkinen's luminous account of the suite from Belshazzar's Feast will have you questioning why such an appealing and highly evocative score is so seldom performed... rarities such as Pan and Echo and The Dryad emerge with a dewy freshness and ear-pricking sophistication that prompt a radical reappraisal. A disc... guaranteed to give pretty much unbridled pleasure.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2009 “played with splendid idiomatic feeling...First-class recording completes the listener's pleasure in an anthology that is worth every penny of its modest cost.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Sibelius - Spirit of Nature
Sibelius: | Overture in E major, JS145 Scène de ballet, JS163 Kullervon valitus from Op. 7 world première recording Serenade, JS168 I natten, Op. 38 No. 3 world première recording Impromptu, Op. 19 [original* and final versions] Pan and Echo, Op. 53 world première recording Hertig Magnus, Op. 57 No. 6 world première recording Luonnotar, Op. 70 (Text: Kalevala) Väinön virsi, Op. 110 (Väinö's Song) Höstkväll, Op. 38:1 (Text: Viktor Rydberg) |
“Tommi Hakala brings poise and a subtle range of colour” Gramophone | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. (Available now to download.) |
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| | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | The Sibelius Edition Volume 10 - Piano Music IIAll recordings included are previously unreleased and 14 pieces are world première recordings.
Sibelius: | Pelléas and Mélisande Suite, Op. 46 Piano transcription by the composer Belshazzar's Feast Suite, Op. 51 Piano transcription by the composer Ten Pieces, Op. 58 Pan and Echo, Op. 53 Piano transcription by the composer. World Première Recording Three Sonatinas, Op. 67 Rondinos, Op. 68 Bell Melody of Berghäll Church, Op. 65b Piano transcription by the composer Scaramouche, incidental music, Op. 71 Piano transcriptions by the composer Spagnuolo Till trånaden Four Lyric Pieces, Op. 74 Five Pieces, Op. 75 'The Trees' Syringa, Op. 75, No. 6 World Première Recording Thirteen Pieces, Op. 76 From Jokamies (Jedermann/Everyman), Op. 83: Incidental music Piano transcriptions by the composer. World Première Recording Five Pieces, Op. 85 'The Flowers' Mandolinato March of the Finnish Jaeger Battalion, Op. 91a Scout March (De danske Spejderes Marsch), Op. 91 No. 2 Six Pieces, Op. 94 Two Pieces for Oscar Parviainen World Première Recording Three Pieces, Op. 96 Six Bagatelles, Op. 97 Suite mignonne, Op. 98a Piano transcription by the composer Suite champêtre, Op. 98b Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 99 Suite caractéristique, Op. 100 Piano transcription by the composer Five Romantic Pieces, Op. 101 Morceau Romantique sur un motif de M. Jacob de Julin Ett ensamt skidspår (A Lonely Ski-Trail), JS77a (1925) for recitation and piano Esquisses (5), Op. 114 Adagio, JS 161 ‘Rakkaalle Ainolle’ (‘To My Beloved Aino’) for piano four hands World Première Recording with Peter Lönnqvist (piano) |
also includes: Appendix: Preliminary/Alternative Versions - From Belsazars gästabud (Belshazzar’s Feast), JS 48: Incidental music to the play by Hjalmar Procopé Piano transcriptions by the composer World Première Recording · No.4 Livets dans (Dance of Life) · No.5 Dödens dans (Dance of Death) - Ballade Preliminary version of Aspen, Op.75 No.3 World Première Recording - Granen (The Spruce) Preliminary version of Op.75 No.5 World Première Recording - Valse lyrique Preliminary version of Op.96a combining material from Syringa and Granen World Première Recording - Valse chevaleresque Preliminary version of Op.96c World Première Recording Commodo – Con energia – Presto - Lied (Song) Preliminary version of Op.97 No.2 World Première Recording - Impromptu Preliminary version of Op.97 No.5 World Première Recording - Andantino – Allegretto Preliminary version of Scène romantique, Op.101 No.5 World Première Recording - In Mournful Mood Preliminary version of Op.103 No.5 World Première Recording - Metsälaulu (Song in the Forest) Preliminary version of Op.114 No.4 World Première Recording
Although less well-known than his orchestral works, his output for the piano is extensive, and we can now present the second instalment of music for solo piano in the BIS Sibelius Edition. The music on this second set was written between 1905 and 1931, and includes the Three Sonatinas, widely seen as some of Sibelius’s finest piano works, as well as the five pieces from the composer’s Op.75, commonly known as ‘The Trees’. Among the several world première recordings in this collection we find an Adagio written for his wife Aino’s birthday in 1931, Sibelius’s last composition for piano – and his only one for piano four-hands. Included are also a number of Sibelius’ own transcriptions, mainly of music he had composed for stage performances of plays such as Pelléas et Mélisande. A special case in this category is the four minute long reworking for the piano of an original bell melody written in 1912 for Helsinki’s newly built Kallio Church. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | The Sibelius Edition Volume 8 - Orchestral Music
Sibelius: | Overture in E major, JS145 Scène de ballet, JS163 Karelia completed and reconstructed by Kalevi Aho Karelia Overture, Op. 10 Karelia Suite, Op. 11 Impromptu for string orchestra Presto in D major for string orchestra Press Celebrations Music Menuetto Coronation Cantata, JS104 Porilaisten marssi, JS152 Overture in A minor, JS144 Romance in C major for strings, Op. 42 Cortège Pan and Echo, Op. 53 The Countess's Portrait (Grevinnans konterfej) Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 Rakastava, Op. 14, for strings & percussion Fragments from a Suite for Orchestra (Predecessor of The Oceanides) Two Serenades, Op. 69 for violin and orchestra Earnest Melodies (2) for violin or cello & orchestra, Op. 77 Six Humoresques, Op. 87 and Op. 89 for violin and orchestra Academic March (1919) March of the Finnish Jaeger Battalion, Op. 91a Three Pieces, Op. 96 Suite mignonne, Op. 98a Suite champêtre, Op. 98b Suite caractéristique, Op. 100 Morceau Romantique sur un motif de M. Jacob de Julin Suite for Violin & Strings Op. 117 Andante festivo, JS34b Processional (‘Onward, Ye Peoples'), Op. 113 No. 6 |
Includes previously unreleased recordings with Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä: Karelia Suite, Op.11; Romance in C major for string orchestra, Op.42; March of the Finnish Jäger Battalion, Op.91a; Suite mignonne, Op.98a; Suite champêtre, Op.98b; Suite caractéristique, Op.100; Autrefois from Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op.96; Menuetto, JS127 Also includes the following world première recordings: Processional, Op.113 No.6; Rakastava, Op.14; Tableaux 7/8 from Karelia, JS115, with simplified version of Tableau 7; Impromptu for string orchestra This instalment returns to the field in which the Finnish master has earned the greatest acclaim. Sibelius himself is reported to have said: ‘I am a man of the orchestra. You must judge me from my orchestral works.’ This disc includes some of Sibelius’s best-known works (the Violin Concerto in Leonidas Kavakos’ award-winning recording and the Karelia Suite newly recorded by Osmo Vänskä to name but two) to rarities such as an early version of Rakastava never previously on disc. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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