Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Original and Final Versions)
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Composer: Jean SibeliusConductor: Osmo V?nsk?
Orchestra: Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2000-08-07
Music Label: Bis
Soundtracks:
- I. Tempo Tranquillo Assai
- II. Allegro Commodo
- III. Andante Mosso
- IV. Allegro Commodo - Largamente Molto
- I. Tempo Molto Moderato - Allegro Moderato
- II. Andante Mosso, Quasi Allegreto
- III. Allegro Molto-Largamente Assai
Free Music Notes for Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Original and Final Versions)
Free Music Review: A useful document of the great changes that the Fifth went through between its first form and the last
Hit: 3 Stars
While Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 was ultimately seen as one of the major achievements of late Romanticism in its third version of 1919, the history of its development is an interesting one. This BIS disc pairs the original 1915 version with the final one of 1919 (the intermediary revision of 1916 has been lost). Osmo Vanska leads the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
I should make it clear that comparing the two versions is only for Sibelius fanatics and academics. That is the reason for a 3-star review, because I don't know what kind of audience I am writing to here, the academic or the simple listener. But for those who are interested in Sibelius' thought processes, this is a great disc in combination with James Hepokoski's entry in the Cambridge Music Handbooks series.
In spite of similar structural outlines and thematic material, the differences between the two symphonies are considerable. In 1915, the symphony had four movements, but by 1919 Sibelius had combined the first two together with great skill, and the final version does seem the more natural. One reason for the mixed critical reaction of the 1916 performance was the pizzicato strings at the beginning of the slow movement, which really are as annoying as the critics and Sibelius' patron Carpelan wrote. It's good that in the 1919 version these alternate with staccato flutes. Still, the 1919 version is not an entirely perfect revision. I like how the 1915 version ends with a simple loud resolution, while I've always felt that the pauses between the final notes of the final version were kind of corny.
BIS' liner notes are excellent, summarizing much of the writing of Hepokoski and Tawastjerna on the genesis of the Fifth. Most helpful are the comparisons between analogous moments of each version with CD timings as reference.
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