Sibelius: Orchestral Works (Finlandia, Vlase triste, Swan of Tuonela, Le Cygne de Tuonela, Karelia Suite, En Saga, Pohjola's Daughter)

Jean Sibelius (Composer), Eugene Ormandy (Conductor), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra
• Conductor: Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Jean Sibelius
• Audio CD (November 17, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027XX
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,711 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General
  • #66 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General AAS

Track Listings

1. Finlandia, tone poem for orchestra, Op. 26

2. Valse triste, for orchestra (from Kuolema), Op. 44/1

3. The Swan of Tuonela, tone poem for orchestra (Lemminkäinen Suite No. 3), Op. 22/3

4. Karelia Suite, for orchestra, Op. 11: 1. Intermezzo. Moderato

5. Karelia Suite, for orchestra, Op. 11: 2. Ballade. Tempo di menuetto - Un poco piů lento

6. Karelia Suite, for orchestra, Op. 11: 3. Alla marcia. Moderato

7. Pohjola's Daughter (Pohjolan tytär), symphonic fantasy for orchestra, Op. 49

8. En Saga, tone poem for orchestra, Op. 9

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A best buy!, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sibelius: Orchestral Works (Finlandia, Vlase triste, Swan of Tuonela, Le Cygne de Tuonela, Karelia Suite, En Saga, Pohjola's Daughter) (Audio CD)

I had first heard a recording of Finlandia a few months before I bought this CD. I liked it really well, so I decided to find my own recording. When I searched at a music store, I came across this CD. I felt this would be a good performance since it was performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. And I loved it when I first heard it. This is one of the best classical CDs that I own, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for music by Sibelius.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sibelius!, February 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sibelius: Orchestral Works (Finlandia, Vlase triste, Swan of Tuonela, Le Cygne de Tuonela, Karelia Suite, En Saga, Pohjola's Daughter) (Audio CD)

I think that this Essential Classics collection by Sony is a good opportunity to get very fine music at a very low price. In this case thay have made a very attractive selection of music by Jean Sibelius. Apart from the Valse Triste, which no matter how many times I hear it, I always find it wonderful, this CD has many other pieces which are very interesting, like the superb Swan of Tuonela or the Karelia Suite. The performance is very good, and Ormandy conducts this pieces very well. If you don't know Sibelius' music yet, I would suggest that you buy this CD. At this price, it is very hard to find a better one.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite for at least 7 years, January 10, 2003

By 

Joshua Kaufman (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sibelius: Orchestral Works (Finlandia, Vlase triste, Swan of Tuonela, Le Cygne de Tuonela, Karelia Suite, En Saga, Pohjola's Daughter) (Audio CD)

This CD was my first introduction to Sibelius outside of Finlandia, and what an introduction it was! Ormandy really knew how to get into this music, and it still contains the best Karelia suite I've heard. For some reason, the intermezzo and march are both taken too slowly on other recordings, but not here -- they are lively and spirited, full of energy.

Finlandia here is well done, though there are so many recordings of it I can't say there aren't better. I've certainly heard far worse. This recording of Valse Triste, is one of my favorites -- it starts on the faster side, but settles into a nice lyrical pace. The Swan of Tuonela is one of the few pieces I think needs to be stretched out as well as can be, and certainly here it's done well. I prefer a couple other, slower, ones, but this suits me fine as well.

This recording of Pohjola's Daughter, as noted, seems to be a favorite, at least at Sony -- I can think of no less than 4 individual CDs and three box sets with this recording. It's a very good read, though this is one piece I don't think I've ever heard a recording I don't like. This is the only piece on the disc with Bernstein/NYPO instead of Ormandy/PO, but that does not detract from it.

The gem of the CD, however, is the final piece, En Saga. It's the piece that in fact took longest to warm up to, but once I did I realized just how good a composer Sibelius was. And this recording is still tops in my book -- no other that I've heard takes it this fast (unlike many Essential Classics releases, there are no cuts anywhere on this CD, so the shortened time IS due to tempo here), and the wonderful melodic hooks and clashing harmonies all over this piece just light up under Ormandy's baton.

If there's any complaints, it's that the sound seems a bit odd. This is most noticable in Finlandia and Valse Triste, but the winds seem a bit more overbearing than normal. A minor complaint though, and in fact seems oddly appropriate in the Valse. I can safely recommend this disc, even if you already own the recording of Pohjola, to both Sibelius newbies and vets.