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Sibelius - Symphony no.1, En saga

£13.88

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Label: Alpha

Cat No: ALPHA440

Barcode: 3760014194405

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Orchestral

Release Date: 25th January 2019

Works

Sibelius, Jean

En saga, op.9
Symphony no.1 in E minor, op.39

Artists

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Conductor

Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Works

Sibelius, Jean

En saga, op.9
Symphony no.1 in E minor, op.39

Artists

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Conductor

Santtu-Matias Rouvali

About

Alpha begins a complete cycle of the symphonies by Sibelius (and of his symphonic poems) with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and its new musical director, Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Originally a percussionist, the 33-year-old trained at the famous Sibelius Academy. His career took off after he stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the great tradition of Finnish conductors, Santtu-Matias Rouvali is known for his extremely physical and organic interpretations: ‘Music unmistakeably flows from him,’ commented The Sunday Times. When Bachtrack asked him how he shapes the orchestral sound, he replied: ‘I sing it, I move my hands the way I want it (…) the conductor should be able to show tempo somewhere in the body (…) I was also a drum kit player, so my feet and hands can do different things at the same time. When you read the score, you sing it in your head (…) I think it’s the sense of inside groove that you get from playing percussion which is very important in Sibelius’s music.’

In the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO) he finds a prestigious cohort of musicians with an impressive discography, and joins a line of their illustrious musical directors, notably Neeme Järvi, the orchestra’s principal conductor from 1982 to 2004, but also Gustavo Dudamel – who made his first major recordings with the GSO – Christoph Eschenbach, Kent Nagano, and others.

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: I. Andante ma non troppo - Allegro energico
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Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: II. Andante (Ma non troppo lento)
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Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: III. Scherzo (Allegro)
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Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: IV. Finale (Andante - Allegro molto - Andante assai - Allegro molo come prima - Andante)
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En saga, Op. 9

Europadisc Review

With so much exceptional competition in the catalogue, it’s a brave conductor who would embark on a new cycle of Sibelius’s symphonies. New kid on the block Santtu-Matias Rouvali, however, is no ordinary conductor: known for his podium antics as much as for his probing musicianship, the big-haired Finn, still only in his mid-thirties, has recently taken over from Gustavo Dudamel as music director of the illustrious Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and is also principal guest conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. Until now his recordings have been mainly as accompanist in concertos, but for his first major outing with the Gothenburg orchestra on the Alpha label he pairs Sibelius’s First Symphony with the early tone poem En saga, and the results are hugely impressive.

The Gothenburg Symphony has a long pedigree in this music going back to the days of Sibelius himself, and their playing throughout is immensely assured. Coupled with that is Rouvali’s incredible attention to colour and textural detail. He is also the same age as Sibelius was when he completed the First Symphony in 1899, and this performance has all the vitality of youth combined with a natural feel for the harmonic pedals that underpin the music’s progress. From the beautifully intoned opening clarinet theme (superbly played by principal clarinet Urban Claesson), through the animated Allegro energico to the growling close, the first movement is grippingly intense, while the second movement Andante produces some glorious sounds, not least the string choirs’ bracing transformation of the main theme at 1’59” and its exquisite follow-up.

The punchy Scherzo has an almost Mediterranean bounce and flair to it, as well as a Brucknerian sense of momentum, opening up to a magnificently Sibelian trio section with noble horns and lovingly intoned woodwind. But it is in the sprawling Finale that Rouvali really proves his mettle, drawing together the music’s disparate strands to defy any criticism of the movement’s structure and imbuing it with a profound sense of inevitability. The scurrying Allegro sections are superbly articulated without sacrificing any sense of excitement, while the framing Andante music has a noble depth to it, crowned by some truly splendid trumpet playing. This whole performances oozes class and character, providing further proof that the Gothenburg Symphony is one of the great Sibelius orchestras and, recorded in dazzling stereo, rivalling even the much-lauded Osmo Vänskä performances on BIS (in surround sound).

Most conductors pair the First with another of Sibelius’s symphonies, but Rouvali keeps the focus here firmly on beginnings with a remarkably compelling account of En saga in its customary revised version of 1902. There’s nothing normal about this performance, though, for it brings out layers of textural detail seldom heard even in the recording studio, but with an innate understanding of the work’s unstated but palpable ‘programme’. Indeed, it has a natural storyteller’s vividness, with an epic arc but relishing the individual episodes, from rapt introspection to exuberant action. Both collectively and individually the Gothenburg players completely enter this world of unspecified legend to create a powerful sense of engagement that lasts long after the final bars have died away, completely justifying the decision to place this work last on the disc.

If future releases in the cycle live up to this first instalment, it will certainly be one to watch and to return to with relish. Documentation and recording are first class, and Rouvali’s ‘solo’ debut is definitely one to remember.

Reviews

This is one terrific disc. For anyone who has ever mistakenly regarded the First Symphony as the romantic, Tchaikovsky-infused precursor to a more elusive, challenging, fully formed Sibelius, the young and exciting Finn Santtu-Matias Rouvali is out to disavow you. ... Everything about this performance is clearly, startlingly defined. ... The Gothenberg Symphony have rarely sounded more committed, the string-playing possessed of tremendous conviction in the opening pages of the second movement. Edward Seckerson

Gramophone March 2019

There are chunks here, as in the filler tone poem En Saga, where the music-making positively blazes, waving the flag for an independent Finland, free from the claustrophobic embrace of Russia at the end of the 19th century. We get proof, too, of Rouvali’s skills in controlling speeds and balancing moods.

The Times February 2019