Search - Various, Sibelius :: Sibelius: Very Best Of

Another Great Sibelius Collection!!!

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 11/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are many great compilations out there that document the music of the masterful Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. This double-CD recently released on the Naxos label is another one to be added to that list.

Extracts from Sibelius' best known works are included here such as the "Karelia Suite", his Second and Fifth Symphonies, "Pohjola's Daughter", the "Valse Triste", "Swan of Tuolena", "En Saga" and of course "Finlandia". Unlike most compilations that focus on his best known work, the Naxos compilation also includes lesser known works such as a portion of "Kyllikki" for solo piano, "Romance for Strings", the "Andante Festivo" and two pieces for vocal and piano ("Reed, Reed, Rustle" and "To Evening").

With its overall length of 2 hours and 15 minutes, Naxos' "Very Best of Sibelius" compilation is another definitive document of this immortal legend. Of course, the works represented here are worth checking out in their complete versions as well.

Also recommended is Sony Music's "Greatest Hits" compilation as well as the "Orchestral Favorites with Photo Album" disc from Ondine.

"

Some of Sibelius' Best-Loved Music, and More

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos has been releasing a series called 'The Very Best of ...' and now comes 'The Very Best of Sibelius.' Surely Sibelius's orchestral music is some of the most-loved music of the twentieth century. His deep rich string chords, with those lovely pedal points, those woodwind melodies harmonized in thirds and sixths, and his sense of the epic all make up one of the most-recognizable musical styles of the past one hundred years. Naxos has published uncounted CDs containing a large part of his output and they have now combined some of these into this two CD compilation that includes complete orchestral movements, songs and piano pieces. Included, of course, are 'Finlandia', 'The Swan of Tuonela' (featuring the beautiful playing of an unnamed English horn player of the Iceland Symphony), 'Valse triste', a couple of sections of the 'Karelia Suite.' But there are also some rarely-heard songs and some of the virtually unknown piano pieces.



There are also some of the best-known movements from the symphonies: the Scherzo from No. 1, Finale of No. 2, the Finale of the 5th (with an excitingly played finish, I must say). Also the slow movement of the Violin Concerto played beautifully by Dong-Suk Kang. And the complete 'En Saga', which some feel is Sibelius's greatest work.



The orchestral performances are by some of Naxos's stable of provincial orchestras, some quite good, others a bit underpowered. Obviously these are not the very best performances on record of any of these works; there are simply too many superb performances recorded by the world's great orchestras and conductors. But all of the performances here are acceptable and I suggest that this compilation is a good place for anyone unfamiliar with Sibelius to sample many of his always rewarding works.



Scott Morrison"