May 18, 2015

• Sibelius' Legends Sparkle Under Lintu

   

  Sibelius: Lemminkainen Legends; Pohjola’s Daughter
  Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu
  Ondine 1262-5
  Total Time:  61:40
  Recording:   ****/****
  Performance: ****/****

  After turning in a fabulous disc of Berio’s music last year for Ondine, Hannu Lintu turns to more traditional fare with this new disc of music by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).  Often one finds parts of the Lemminkainen Legends, Op. 22 filling out releases with a predilection for the second one, “The Swan of Tuonela”, making it the more popular.  Originally, the work began as musical ideas for an opera, steeped in the sort of mythological traditions of Wagner and appealing to the Symbolist side of the composer.  But when this possibility fell through, the music was quickly repurposed into these four symphonic poems following one of the great characters of Finnish folklore.

  The four tone poems are in some ways, when heard together, like a large programmatic symphony.  The structural tempi work well together when they are taken as a whole.  The opening “Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island” has a great deal of exciting writing and often great folk-like musical feel in the string writing especially, as well as in the melodic ideas.  The orchestral writing itself is simply a marvel to behold throughout but, it is quite accomplished in this opening movement.  The more familiar swan, with its gorgeous English horn solo, is one of the hallmarks of the work.  It is followed by a scherzo, along the lines of a Liszt macabre tone poem in “Lemminkainen in Tuonela.”  Of all the movements, this one feels most situated in the 1890s alongside other symphonic poems.  The finale, “Lemminkainen’s Return” finds an early example of thematic transformation that Sibelius would explore more fully in his fifth symphony it makes for a truly exciting conclusion.  The piece is a highlight of the Symbolist aesthetic of the time.

  Lintu and the Finnish players obviously take this music very seriously and their performance allows those familiar with Sibelius’ symphonic work to really appreciate how many ideas, personal orchestral gestures, and thematic development approaches would continue to build into the glorious symphonies in the composer’s continued musical development.  The performances are richly recorded and the detail is still simply fabulous.  The low end of the orchestra is especially well captured lending a great bass support when needed, especially as double basses enter with those wonderful held pedal points.  The upper end of the orchestra is given equally fine detail.  This release may very well be the touchstone for others to follow.

  As a little bonus, the recording concludes with Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49 (1906).  This intense little tone poem was composed between the second and third symphonies.  On one hand, it allows us to see some of the transition the composer was undergoing between a more Romantic style, and one of a more Classical nature.  The work is no doubt an attempt to explore the tone poem in a way similar to the more popular ones by Richard Strauss at the time.  It takes its inspiration from the Kalevala where the hero, Vainamoinen, tries in vain to woo the daughter of Pohjola.  The central section is among the most intense in the composer’s literature.

  It had been a very long time since I’d considered a new recording of any of this music.  My old Ormandy recording seemed to be serving me just fine.  I was a bit shocked to find I had no other recording of Pohjola’s Daughter than my classic Barbirolli LP!  So, on the one hand, these pieces come with new revelations personally listening to the amazing audio quality of Ondine’s SACD 5.0 Surround Stereo.  Regardless of playback, one will certainly find themselves totally engaged by this performance; enough perhaps to revisit many of Sibelius’ other recordings.  This is a truly marvelous release!

  • 11:45 am
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