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Opening this concert is Sibelius' overture
Finlandia, composed for a gala in Helsinki to support the right of free speech at a time when the nation was under Russian domination. The work became a symbol of Finland's struggle for independence, and virtually the country's unofficial national anthem. Instantly recognisable, it is the most famous Finish music ever composed. Apart from his seven symphonies, Sibelius' major legacy is the series of tone poems he was inspired to write by Finish history and legend. The
Karelia Suite is his revision of music originally written for a sequence of tableaux portraying the history of Karelia. Drawing on folk influences, this is melodic, celebratory and most attractive music. The major work on the album, though, is the
Lemminkäinen Suite. Lemminkäinen was described by Sibelius as "the Don Juan of Finnish mythology". Here the philanderer undergoes a series of adventures, including a bleak sojourn in the underworld, before the mystical melancholy of the most famous movement, "The Swan of Tuonela", and the heroism of " Lemminkäinen's Return". This is an intelligently compiled programme, superbly played and recorded. Petri Sakari and the Iceland SO have also recorded Sibelius' Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3, which are worthy of further exploration.
--Gary S. Dalkin
商品の説明
Finlandia, op. 42 - Karelia, op. 10 - Suite Lemminkaïnen, op. 22 / Orchestre Symphonique d'Islande, dir. Petri Sakari