Kristin Berglund

Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) recorded the complete symphonies of his great compatriot Sibelius no fewer than three times. This set, central in every respect, was made in the 1980s with the Helsinki Philharmonic. Berglund, a former music director of the Helsinki Philharmonic, was renowned internationally as a master interpreter of Sibelius’s extraordinary music. In Gramophone’s words, he conducted it “with an unhurried, controlled inevitability that allows the music to unfold in its own time without any loss of tension or excitement”.

Completing the cycle of the seven symphonies of the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is this remastered 2 CD recording from EMI of the performances by Paavo Berglund and the Helsinski Philharmonic Orchestra. Not only are the symphonies 5,6, and 7 given masterful performances, but the recording includes the rather rarely played 'The Oceanides' tone poem as well as the ever popular 'Finlandia' and 'Tapiola'. Again Berglund provides spacious sound and breathtaking climaxes in these works and the quality of sound from the Helsinki Philharmonic is solid.

Love remains…In 1993, three musicians from Sweden, Esbjörn Svensson, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström formed the band e.s.t.. Svensson and Öström had known each other ever since their first steps into music as children. Neither of them could have anticipated that e.s.t. would become the most influential band in European jazz of the noughties. And when the band formed they probably didn't think they were particularly ‘jazz’ either; all they wanted to do was to play the music which united their passions: rock, pop, classical, folk, improvisation. In the following 15 years, e.s.t. would play thousands of concerts worldwide, release ten studio albums and several live recordings, win awards, gold discs. We all know how the story ends.

A true specialist of his fellow countryman Jean Sibelius’ music, Paavo Berglund recorded no less than three complete symphony cycles for EMI/Finlandia! That makes him the most devoted Sibelius conductor of the whole discography. The first symphony Berglund ever put on record was Sibelius’ seventh, his musical testament and a pure concentrate of his musical genius. It is made available in a brand-new audio cut, and coupled with other late masterpieces such as Tapiola or The Oceanides.

Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) was recognised as a father-figure in modern Sibelius conducting. He notably recorded no less than 3 times his complete symphonies, with the Bournemouth Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic and later with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Besides much music of his homeland and Scandinavia in general he was able to demonstrate his prowess in Russian music, particularly Shostakovich, and flair for British music including Vaughan Williams and Bliss. After his time in Bournemouth and Helsinki he conducted all the major British orchestras as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Staatskapelle Dresden and the New York Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestras.

In addition to his symphonic recordings, Berglund also recorded concertos by Shostakovich with Tortelier and Ortiz. The album also includes the piano solo "Three Fantasy Dances", recorded in 1973-1975.

With this fiery version of Schumann’s piano concerto, the discography of the amazing Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund is now fully available digitally! It is coupled with other masterpieces of the concertante repertoire, including Grieg the quite rare Glazunov, and performed with undisputable mastery by genius soloist John Ogdon.

The ballet Miracle in the Gorbals (named after the working-class quarter of Glasgow), still rarely recorded, is a very somber and violent piece of music, one of the most intense among the works of Arthur Bliss. The suite recorded by Paavo Berglund finally makes its digital debut, coupled with a late cello concerto (of a quite different kind, cheerful and optimistic), premiered by Mstislav Rostropovich at Britten’s Aldeburgh Festival in 1970, and here performed by Berglund fellow countryman Arto Noras.

The sixth, tenth and eleventh symphonies by Shostakovich are among the most popular of the corpus. They showcase the composer’s quintessence: with atmospheres by turns sombre, deceptively merry, or ironical, this is music often imbued with pomp and militarism… A great specialist in Russian music, Paavo Berglund dedicated a large part of his career to promoting the works of Shostakovich, during a time when it was still poorly considered in the West.