Finnish Orchestral Favorites

Jean Sibelius (Composer), Leevi Madetoja (Composer), Oskar Merikanto (Composer), Heikki Aaltoila (Composer), Heino Kaski (Composer), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Composer), Toivo Kuula (Composer), Erkki Melartin (Composer), Aulis Sallinen (Composer), Armas Jarnefelt (Composer), Uuno Klami (Composer), Taneli Kuusisto (Composer), Jorma Panula (Conductor), Okko Kamu (Conductor), Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Finnish Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Jorma Panula, Okko Kamu
• Composer: Jean Sibelius, Leevi Madetoja, Oskar Merikanto, Heikki Aaltoila, Heino Kaski, et al.
• Audio CD (May 15, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B00005AYEP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,814 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good From Start to Finnish, December 14, 2010

By 

Anton Karidian (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finnish Orchestral Favorites (Audio CD)

If you are like me in having very little by composers from Finland other than Jean Sibelius, FINNISH ORCHESTRAL FAVOURITES is a good sampler of works by several composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the pieces on the disc favor the Romantic era, and the booklet refers to these as "nationalist" since they tend to reflect aspects of Finnish history and culture. However, there are several compositions (perhaps one third of the CD) that are more modernist and more reflective of international musical styles and subjects. Sibelius is surely by far the most famous of the composers on this disc, although only his Finlandia (8:16 in length) and Valse triste (4:36) are performed. There is also a good variety of moods represented here, ranging from elegiac pieces to celebratory ones such as marches and waltzes. Overall, the music on the disc is quite compelling and interesting.

The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Chamber Orchestra (the latter performs only one short composition) both sound very proficient, probably helped by the fact that as Finnish ensembles they no doubt have performed this music many times. The sound quality is very good too, with a warm and natural ambience to the 1995-96 digital recordings. The helpful booklet has 6 pages on the music and performers, rendered rather brief by being divided equally into English, German, and French. Playing time is a generous 67 minutes. FINNISH ORCHESTRAL FAVOURITES is another of the wonderful series from Naxos of "classical" favorites from various countries, so if you're interested in obtaining others as well, several are linked on this page.