JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1967)
Symphony No. 1 op. 39 in E minor
I - Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico
II - Andante (ma non troppo lento)
III - Scherzo (Allegro)
IV - Finale (Quasi una fantasia)
Symphony No. 6 op. 104 in D minor
I - Allegro molto moderato
II - Allegretto moderato
III - Poco vivace
IV - Allegro molto
Supple and turbulent, a ring of men
Shall chant in orgy on a summer morn
Their boisterous devotion to the sun,
Not as a god, but as a god might be,
Naked among them, like a savage source.
Their chant shall be a chant of paradise,
Out of their blood, returning to the sky;
And in their chant shall enter, voice by voice,
The windy lake wherein their lord delights,
The trees, like serafin, and echoing hills,
That choir among themselves long afterward.
They shall know well the heavenly fellowship
Of men that perish and of summer morn.
And whence they came and whither they shall go
The dew upon their feet shall manifest.
Wallace Stevens - Sunday Morning, VII
I couldn't find a better description of the music of Sibelius than this beautiful poem by Wallace Stevens.
The connection with elemental nature and man is visible in Sibelius music from the beginning; and if we think about their great performers, Karajan, Berglund, Collins, Davis, Vanska and a myriad more come to mind ... and Leaper, who played the horn as soloist in the Philharmonia for many years.
From the post-romantic contractions of the first symphonies to the almost scriabinesque 7th, Leaper leads us along shady yet limpid paths, relying on a dramatic but not condescending rhetoric to forge each of the works into a living block of incandescent stone.
With the plus of a clear recording and a precise orquestal performance, this integral is one to keep.
Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 43
I - Allegretto
II - Tempo andante, ma rubato
III - Vivacissimo
IV - Finale (Allegro moderato)
Symphony No. 7 in C major Op. 105
Symphony No. 3 in C major Op. 52
I - Allegro moderato
II - Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
III - Moderato - Allegro (ma non tanto)
Symphony No. 4 in A minor Op. 63
I - Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio
II - Allegro molto vivace
III - Il tempo Largo
IV - Allegro
Symphony No. 5 in E flat major Op. 82
I - Tempo molto moderato - Largamente - Allegro moderato
II - Andante mosso, quasi allegretto
III - Allegro
En Saga tone poem for orchestra Op. 9
Belshazzar's Feast suite for orchestra Op. 51
I - Oriental Procession
II- Solitude
III - Night Music
IV - Khadra's Dance
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
I - Allegro moderato
II - Adagio di molto
III - Allegro ma non tanto
Johan Svendsen Romance in G major Op. 26
Johan Halvorsen Danses Norvégiennes
Christian Sinding Légende
Johan Halvorsen Air Norvégien Op. 7
Dong-Suk Kang violin
Melodies for string orchestra Op. 53
Nordic Melodies for string orchestra Op. 63
Erotik lyric piece for piano, Op. 43/5
Elegiac Melodies for orchestra Op. 34
Jean Sibelius
Romance for string orchestra in C major, Op. 42
Andante Festivo for string orchestra
Canzonetta for orchestra Op. 62a
Rakastava suite for string orchestra, triangle & timpani Op. 14
All disc conducted by Adrian Leaper
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Czechoslovak Radio SO (Violin Concerto)
Capella Istropolitana (Grieg - Sibelius)
Naxos 1989-1991
digital download with covers and booklets