Sibelius 6.01

Mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is famous for her strong stage presence and musical integrity. Gramophone Magazine writes about her: The mezzo-soprano is quite outstanding: strong, firm, sensitive in modulations, imaginative in her treatment of words, with a voice pure in quality, wide in range and unfalteringly true in intonation.

Beethoven reputedly wasn't Beecham's favorite composer, but you wouldn't know it from this performance; it's exceedingly well conceived, highly energetic, and has that unique Beecham sparkle to it. The fillers also are delightful. All recorded in Ascona, Switzerland in 1957.

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.

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.

Sibelius ranks as one of the most important and strikingly original symphonic composers of the twentieth century. His Violin Concerto, a wonderful synthesis of technical brilliance and poignant, deeply-felt melody, is one of the greatest concertos in the repertoire. It is coupled on this disc with the rarely recorded Violin Concerto No. 1, by Christian Sinding, widely remembered as the composer of The Rustle of Spring.

It wasn't so long ago that the only Sibelius quartet on disc was Voces intimae. Now the catalogue boasts no fewer than three accounts of the A minor, and the Voces intimae itself is available in five different versions. It is worth, perhaps, reminding you that before the Kullervo Symphony, Sibelius had hardly composed anything other than chamber music. After his breakthrough as an orchestral composer he continued to write music for domestic use, but into none of it did he pour ideas of any real significance or inspiration, with the sole exception of Voces intimae.

Perhaps no other conductor has done more for Sibelius or has championed him more consistently on record than Herbert von Karajan. Celebrating Karajan’s great affinity to Sibelius, we present the reissue of his complete recordings of the composer’s works on the Yellow Label, across 5 CDs + 1 Blu-ray. The analogue recordings are newly remastered and presented on Blu-ray Audio disc in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos.

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.

Sibelius's Symphony No.3 was composed in 1907. It is the link between the romantic intensity of his first two symphonies and the more cold complexity of his later symphonies. Symphony No.7 was completed in 1924 and is notable for having only one movement. The Swan of Tuonela is a tone poem based on the Kalevala epic of Finnish mythology. The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Yevgeny Mravinsky pair these with Debussy's Nocturnes Nos.1 & 2.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.