Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: Lemminkäinen and the Island Maidens (No. 1)

“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

“The four Legends first began to surface in Sibelius's mind in 1893, at the same time as he was working on his Kalevala opera, The Building ofthe Boat, the prelude to which became The swanof Tuonela. It isn't the only thing from the opera that found its way into the Legends. The lovely A-minor idea for muted strings in the middle section of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela is also among the sketches, where Sibelius scribbled over it the words, 'the Maiden of Death'. In the opera she would have rowed Väinämöinen across the river to Tuonela. In the tone-poem she symbolises the very opposite, the loving mother whose ministrations return Lemminkäinen to life. In 1954 Sibelius reversed the order of the inner movements so that The swan preceded Lemminkäinen in Tuonela. Segerstam disregards the composer's wishes and places them in the old order; there's a case for this – you otherwise have two highly dramatic pieces (Lemminkäinenin Tuonela and Lemminkäinen'sHomeward Journey) placed alongside each other.
Segerstam gets very good results from the Helsinki orchestra, which responds with a keen enthusiasm that's inspiriting. The performance is free from excessive mannerisms, and his account of Tapiola is very impressive. He tellingly evokes the chilling terrors and awesome majesty of the Nordic forest.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Most impressive. In its keen intelligence, fiery snap and thrust, Petri Sakari's account of the four Legends proves more than a match for the finest. The Iceland SO may not be world-beaters, but they respond to their thoughtful young Finnish maestro's illuminating direction with clean-limbed zest and commitment to the cause (their winds are an especially personable bunch).
Perhaps the highlight of the new set is Lemminkäinenin Tuonela, which, like Segerstam and Salonen before him, Sakari places second (reverting to the composer's original scheme), and where he distils a relentless concentration and pin-sharp focus (only Segerstam is more gripping in this brooding essay). No one should miss out on the heady opulence of Ormandy's magnificent Philadelphia strings in those glorious singing lines of Lemminkäinen and the maidens ofthe island, but the Icelanders play their hearts out, and anyway Sakari gives a dramatic reading of bold contrasts and strong symphonic cohesion.
No grumbles, either, about The Swan ofTuonela or Lemminkäinen's Homeward Journey which is firmly controlled, dashingly detailed and genuinely exciting (as opposed to merely excitable).
Sakari's rewarding Legends comes very near the top of the heap alongside (though, ultimately, not ahead of) Segerstam, Saraste and Ormandy. In the popular couplings, Sakari's unhackneyed approach once again pays dividends, though his unusually brisk (and ever-so-slightly hectic) tempo for the main portion of the Karelia Suite's opening Intermezzo isn't always convincing . None the less, this is quite a bargain. Eminently pleasing sound, too: free of gimmickry and tonally very true.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010