Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor (Original Version); Violin Concerto in D minor

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor (Original Version); Violin Concerto in D minor

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor (Original Version); Violin Concerto in D minor
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Music CD Cover

Composer: Jean Sibelius
Conductor: Osmo Vänskä
Orchestra: Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 1992-11-23
Music Label: Bis
Soundtracks:
  1. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: I. Allegro moderato
  2. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: II. Adagio di molto
  3. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: III. Allegro (ma non tanto)
  4. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: I. Allegro moderato
  5. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: II. Adagio di molto
  6. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: III. Allegro, ma non tanto

Free Music Notes for Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor (Original Version); Violin Concerto in D minor

Free Music Review: Essential For All Interested In Sibelius
Hit: 5 Stars

Unlike most listeners I have a different perspective in that I experienced the Original Version of the Sibelius Violin Concerto before the Revised Version. Understandable since this is the first recording of the Concerto in my collection, purchased in February 1992. I first listened to the two in the order they appear on the CD and so had no attachment to the Revision. Most others become familiar with the Revision over the course of years or even decades before encountering the Original.

They're both masterpieces, incredibly atmospheric and accessible. There was a time when I considered the Original to be superior. This had to do with certain likable elements missing in the Revision. For instance, there is a passage in the Original finale (2:06 of Track 3) where the music just takes flight for a few seconds in a typically Sibelian way. Stirring! There are other cuts that I miss from the Original as well, feeling they add beauty and atmosphere. On the other hand, there are elements in the Original Version such as the embellishments that conclude the Adagio that add little emotionally but detract significantly from structure. So with this give and take I eventually came around to accepting the Revised Version as definitive.

Regardless of which version each listener may think is "better", this is a vitally important recording in that it documents Sibelius' creative process. Here we have a precursor to the transformations found in the different versions of the 5th Symphony, and in Sibelius' compositional style in general. Though the themes, orchestration, and solo writing are not dramatically different in the two versions, the alterations and change in mood are more than minor: The Original is darker, richer and more mysterious. It looked to the past. The Revision is more intense, interconnected and crystalline. It looked to the future.

I have listened to numerous other recordings of the Revised Version and find myself coming back to this BIS CD over and over. Technically Leonidas Kavakos may not be up to the level of some of the legendary soloists who have recorded (as I have read...I am not qualified to judge), but I do not hesitate to say that he is up to their level artistically: These are epic, brooding interpretations, the violin gleaming coldly against the dark orchestral canvass. But there is warmth, too, in the notoriously romantic Adagio. The orchestral playing is superb. The Lahti Symphony is a provincial orchestra, though they have earned an international reputation. This was the recording that put the orchestra on the world map. The conductor Osmo Vänskä was obscure at the time, but thanks to this and subsequent outstanding recordings with the Lahti Symphony he has embarked on a distinguished international career. Vänskä and his orchestra are in complete sync with the music, Kavakos, and each other in both recordings. Couple the inspired performance with realistic sound and you have recordings that are hard to match.

While I do not usually fall all over myself in praise of BIS sound quality like some do, the engineering is excellent. Too often BIS is overly ambitious with the dynamic range of its recordings with resultant distortion in fortissimo passages. I don't know if it is because they set the level too high or if it is microphone clipping, but I hear it frequently in other BIS recordings. Not here! Thankfully the engineers kept everything in the recording envelope. The flipside is that a fairly high listening level is required to hear the quieter passages, so climaxes can be LOUD! The recording is detailed but still atmospheric with a fantastic sense of space and natural soloist positioning. This recording is a collector's item and everybody who has an interest in Sibelius should own it.
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