Search - Jean Sibelius, Tuomas Ollila, Juha Kotilainen :: Jean Sibelius: Karelia Music (Complete) / Press Celebrations Music (including original version of Finlandia) - Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra / Tuomas Ollila

A must recording for Sibelius fans

11/15/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Karelia Music, written just before the turn of the century, as a protest of Finland's domination by Russian, is a powerful work. Although Sibelius, in a fit of pique, destroyed some of the manuscript - after drawing from it the famous "Karelia Suite" - there was enough of the score remaining for it to be completed by Jouni Kaipainen and subsequently recorded by the Tampere Philharmonic. And what a recording it is! Vivid sound, the best I've heard. The music is Sibelius at his most powerful and evocative. Through a series of "tableaux" the grandeur, mythology, drama and struggle of Finland is realized. The familiar parts of the Suite, heard here in their proper context, sound even better. Three of the tableaux have voice parts - for two sopranos, a baritone and a chorus. The finale includes the Finnish National Anthem.The Press Celebrations Music, receiving a premiere recording, is just as worthwhile. Again, written in protest, this time of the Russian's closing of a popular newspaper in Helsinki. Sibelius used some of this music elsewhere, but here it is original and grand. All of the elements are present which gives one the "open" and "outdoor" feeling of Sibelius best works. The last movement, "Finland Awake", was later to be performed under the name "Finlandia".If you are a Sibelius fan, you cannot be without this recording."

Outstanding performance. Horrible sound.

G. Stewart | Chesapeake, VA USA | 08/03/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Although I certainly understand the passion of the review above (a 5 star review with glowing remarks about the performance and accurate history behind the pieces), I must disagree on one account; the sound mixing is not very good at all.



The performance by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is lovely, but the sound engineers really "dropped the ball" on this one. They took a beautiful performance and buried it in a muffled and distorted sort of bubble. It's as if I am listening to these amazing pieces, peformed flawlessly and with an astonishing flair and an exuberance that clearly translates via the media in a radiantly gorgeous performance, under water, maybe in a dumpster (I don't know, it just sounds so muffled and it's a shame).



The sound guys cannot be forgiven for ruining this rare recording of Sibelius' "Sanomalehdiston Paivien Muslikki", here translated as "Press Celebrations Music"; this actually translates more like "Music for the Days of the Press" and the piece was subtitled "Tableau music for the celebrations for the Finnish Press" (for what its worth).



The disc does, as stated on the cover, contain the original version of Finlandia, here listed and performed in Sibelius original composition "Finland Awakes". It is an interesting experience hearing the piece with differences, flashing nuances, that appear as the piece was composed in 1899, before Sibelius changed it to what we now know as "Finlandia", as Sibelius reworked the piece in 1911.



All in all, the CD is worth having for any Sibelius fan becuase of the rare "Press Celebrations Music" in its entirety. The Karelia is more readily available, but the performance here is marvelous.



Why!, why!, why!, do sound engineers do this? It is so frustrating. The performance deserves 5 stars, the sound mixing deserves a 1, I meet in the middle for a 3 rating. I feel sorry for Tuomas Ollila and the Tampere Philharmonic as they really got screwed on this deal. A real shame. But again, if you turn the volume up, it is worth it for Sibelius fans."