There is only one that I know of: a radio broadcast that was recorded of Sibelius conducting his own Andante Festivo. It is said to be a remarkably intense reading, very slow (and I can partly vouch for that; it's played in part on the Christopher Nupen film on Sibelius). It was made in the 1930's, so the sound isn't so great, but this is one of those recordings where the music matters far more than the sound quality.

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"Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n
wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen
zu Gott wird es dich tragen!"
-Gustav Mahler

Thank you! I've always wondered about that.

Good to see some familar faces here from another forum...

YES! Sibelius is one of the all-time greats! So happy to see his is appreciated in this forum.

I've been in other classical forums where people are not familair with his music or express distaste for him. This always frustrates me. Glad to see it's not the case here.

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"Music is not philosophy." --Akira Ifukube

I love Sibelius's no 7 and his Finlandia. When I was visiting finland recently everywhere you went they had these two playing songs playing. Such an amazing feel.

And which performances do you recommend for Finlandia in particular? I listened to Karajan's and it was pleasingly "Karajanish" but I also found a Finnish conductor, namely Sakari Oramo directing the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and I have the impression that he had "got it" even better as far as the spirit of that piece is concerned. I was wondering if you would agree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMBR0...eature=related

I've got a question I'm hoping someone may be able to help me here regarding Sibelius' music, specifically his romance opus 24 no. 9. I will be performing it soon and would like to be able to give some information about this piece to the audience.
Many thanks.

My favorite performance of Finlandia is Karajan's with the Berliner Philharmonkier from 1977 on EMI. Herbie performs this piece as is it were a force of nature. Another great performance is with Osmo Vanska and the Lahti Symphony on the album Finland Awakes. Here, they do the orginal ending of Finlandia, which is quite dramatic. The playing/recording are excellent, as well.

A universally popular recording is Paavo Berglund with the Helsinki Phil from 1986.

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"Music is not philosophy." --Akira Ifukube

Opus 24, Ten Pieces for Piano, is part of Sibelius's often (and unfairly) disregarded piano oeuvre. It consists of ten movements, and they were written between 1894 and 1903.

The 9th movement, Romance, is usually the best know movement from this work.

Sibelius was not naturally inclined towards writing for the piano. He once declared that Chopin was the only composer who could write truly great pianomusic.

He wrote music for the piano out of financial need more than for personal artistic gratification. His piano works are often very tuneful and reletively easy to play, as they were intended for performance in people's homes. Again, this was for commercial reasons, other than purely artistic reasons.

Another interesting aspect of Sibelius's piano music is the use of the left hand. Sibelius's writing for this piano keeps the left hand quite busy to achieve a rich, dark tone in the music. It is often said Sibelius was thinking "orchestrally" when writing for piano, so in order to get a deep, orchestral sound, the left hand is busy in the lower octaves.

Hope that helps!

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"Music is not philosophy." --Akira Ifukube

Many thanks Tapkaara, that helps. I must say I enjoy playing it. Its a pity he didnt write much for the piano really.

Au contraire!

Sibelius wrote quite a bit for the piano. There's a whole world for you to discover.

An excellent survey of Sibelius's complete piano music is available on the Naxos label. Seek out his complete piano works on that label; it is in 5 volumes. The pianist is Havard Gimse.

Two of his best know piano works are Kyllikki (based on Finnish mythology) and The Trees. These two works are, obviously, available on Naxos's complete cycle of Sibelius piano music and are played wonderfully by Mr. Gimse.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Karelia Suite. Another great Sibelius piece, and very "Finnish" sounding. The Alla Marcia movement is probably my favorite Sibelius movement of all.

The Karelia Suite is certainly among Sibelius's most universally popular works. Light and tuneful, it never fails to win over audiences in concert.

The third and final movement, Alla marcia, is definitely toe-tapping music.

An early work, it is worlds away from Sibelius later, more austere style. I would definitely recommend the Karelia Suite to anyone who wants to get to know this composer. After enjoying works such as this, Finlandia, En Saga and the Lemminkainen Suite, one should move to the symphonies.

Don't get me wrong, I love his symphonies as well, especially 2 and 7 and especially when Osmo Vanska is conducting, but there is something about that Alla Marcia that just gets me every time.

I like most of Sibelius's music. Colin Davis & Boston Symph. for symphonies in
particular. I have a couple albums of his songs (many in German) which are nice
too. Violin concerto I agree is one of best around.

Ed

Well, there is no denying that Karelia's Alla marcia is a rousing piece!!!

Vanska is a great Sibelian, but I am sceptical of the much-admired Colin Davis. I find his reading of Sibelius to be way too tame. Vanska is good at keeping clarity throughout any score he conducts, but he can still infuse a certain amount of drive and gusto that makes his Sibelius among the best around.