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Sibelius - Symphonies 2 & 5

£10.87

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Label: Testament

Cat No: SBT1418

Barcode: 0749677141820

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Orchestral

Release Date: 25th February 2008

Works

Sibelius, Jean

Symphony no.2 in D major, op.43
Symphony no.5 in E flat major, op.82

Artists

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Halle Orchestra

Conductor

Sir John Barbirolli

Works

Sibelius, Jean

Symphony no.2 in D major, op.43
Symphony no.5 in E flat major, op.82

Artists

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Halle Orchestra

Conductor

Sir John Barbirolli

About

Jean Sibelius 1865-1957

Symphony No.2 in D, Op.43
I Allegretto 10.13
II Tempo andante, ma rubato 14.26
III Vivacissimo 6.01
IV Finale: Allegro moderato 13.49
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Symphony No.5 in E flat, Op.82 1968
I Tempo molto moderato – Allegro moderato –
Presto 13.47
II Andante mosso, quasi allegretto 8.58
III Allegro molto – Un pochettino largamente 9.34
Hallé Orchestra 77.03
conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Since his sudden death on 29 July 1970, the discography of Sir John Barbirolli has expanded considerably, enabling us to examine his conducting legacy in greater depth and detail than ever before. Apart from a relatively large commercial discography, broadcast recordings from Barbirolli’s period in New York, as permanent conductor of that city’s Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1943, together with BBC and continental radio recordings from his subsequent 27-year period as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, plus guest appearances with other orchestras, have been made available, affording later generations opportunities to study his artistry as never before.

This record brings together, for the first time, undoubtedly inspired performances of two Sibelius symphonies – the Second and the Fifth – conducted by Barbirolli, the first a studio recording from 1962, the second a live BBC Henry Wood Promenade Concert from 1968. Barbirolli’s repertoire was wide, but the music of Sibelius was always central to it. He conducted Sibelius relatively frequently during his years as conductor of the Scottish Orchestra, and at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival in August 1940 he directed the First and Second Symphonies. In October of that year he repeated the Second Symphony in New York. During his inaugural season as music director of the Hallé Orchestra (1943-44), Barbirolli programmed all seven Sibelius symphonies in chronological order.

When he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in December 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall, receiving it from Queen Elizabeth (later, the Queen Mother), Vaughan Williams’s Sixth and Sibelius’s Second Symphonies were in the programme. His first concert with the Berlin Philharmonic in January 1961 included the Sibelius Seventh Symphony, and what proved to be his last ever concert with the Hallé, on 3 May 1970, included Sibelius’s Sixth Symphony.

Within Barbirolli’s commercial discography, one finds not only an integral set of the seven symphonies with the Hallé Orchestra (Nos.2, 5 and 7 in two versions of each), but also two further recordings of No.2 with other orchestras – the first with the Philharmonic-Symphony of New York, recorded for American Columbia in June 1940, and the third he made, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, from October 1962 for Reader’s Digest. With four commercial recordings, made over a 26-year period, the Second Symphony is the most often recorded of the seven symphonies in Barbirolli’s discography. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recording is the one that begins this record. In all, Barbirolli made 13 commercial recordings of symphonies by Sibelius, and 14 of his other orchestral music.

From the booklet note © Robert Matthew-Walker, 2007