Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Spring Song & Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast" BBC Symphony Orchestra & Sakari Oramo

• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, "Four Legends for Orchestra":
• 1 Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, "Four Legends for Orchestra": I. Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island (Lemminkäinen ja saaren neidot) 15:58
• 2 Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, "Four Legends for Orchestra": II. Lemminkäinen in Tuonela 14:52
• 3 Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, "Four Legends for Orchestra": III. The Swan of Tuonela 08:57
• 4 Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, "Four Legends for Orchestra": IV. Lemminkäinen's Homeward Journey 06:42
• Jean Sibelius:
• 5 Sibelius: Spring Song, Op. 16, "The Sadness of Spring" 09:10
• Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast", Op. 51:
• 6 Sibelius: Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast", Op. 51: I. Oriental Procession 03:12
• 7 Sibelius: Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast", Op. 51: II. Solitude 03:37
• 8 Sibelius: Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast", Op. 51: III. Nocturne 04:50
• 9 Sibelius: Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast", Op. 51: IV. Khadra's Dance 04:16
• Total Runtime 01:11:34

Info for Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Spring Song & Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast"

Chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 2013, Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo has a special affinity with the music of his compatriot Sibelius which this recording admirably demonstrates. Sibelius’ ever-popular ‘Lemminkäinen Suite’ is coupled here with ‘Spring Song’, and the lesser-known Suite from ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’. Sibelius composed the ‘Lemminkäinen Suite’ (also called the Four Legends, or Four Legends from the Kalevala), Op. 22, in the 1890s. Originally conceived as a mythological opera, Veneen luominen (The Building of the Boat), the suite is based on the character Lemminkäinen from the Finnish epic, the Kalevala. Sibelius’ music for ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’ was originally composed as incidental music for a play (by Hjalmar Procopé), in 1906. First performed in the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki in November of that year, conducted by the composer. The following year, Sibelius extracted four of the eight movements to form the more widely known orchestral suite we hear in this recording.

"The Lemminkäinen Suite has tended to be viewed as an important staging post on [Sibelius’s path to the symphony]…What Sakari Oramo shows is that it’s a marvellous achievement in its own right, and as such not quite like anything else…Superbly recorded, this is a Lemminkäinen Suite to treasure." (BBC Music Magazine)

"Sibelius in three different but vital modes - linguistic cornerstones, even - on which the BBC Symphony's chief conductor brings deep insights to bear. It is thrilling to hear the rarity Spring Song played with full acknowledgement that this is rather more than a seasonal ditty [...] We once again come close to the heart of Sibelius in an unlikely place." (Gramophone Magazine)

"Chandos’s production values do Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra proud, the warm Watford Colosseum acoustic nicely captured. A winner." (The Arts Desk)

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Sakari Oramo
is the Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Principal Conductor of West Coast Kokkola Opera and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. After serving for a decade as Chief Conductor of the Finnish radio Symphony Orchestra, he is now their Honorary Conductor.

In the 2017-18 season Oramo is highlighting the 100th Anniversary of independence of Finland by giving a complete cycle of Jean Sibelius symphonies with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, alongside with music by other compatriots like Aarre Merikanto and Esa-Pekka Salonen. With the same orchestra, he is also undertaking an extensive tour of Japan in March 2018.

With the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, he is giving an all-Stravinsky festival in October 2017, as well as a Composer Festival in November, focusing on HK Gruber´s music. Later in the season, Oramo is championing Swedish composer Ludvig Norman (1831-1885) by giving a rare performance of his Third Symphony.

With West Coast Kokkola Opera and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, he is performing Giacomo Meyerbeer´s rare ”L´Etoile du Nord” in Helsinki on 11 November 2017, a production that received rave reviews already at its first outing in Kokkola in July.

Oramo has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, NDR Symphony Orchestra (All of which he will conduct again during 2018), Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin as well as the Boston, Chicago and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam.

This album contains no booklet.