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Monthly Archive: November 2021

Beecham Conducts Sibelius – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Ariadne

Beecham Conducts Sibelius – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Ariadne

by | Nov 2, 2021 | Classical CD Reviews, Classical Reissue Reviews

BEECHAM Conducts SIBELIUS = Symphony No. 1 in E Minor; Historic Scenes: Memory Song; At the Drawbridge; Interview: Playing for Beecham – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Thomas Beecham – SOMM ARIADNE 5013 (2021) (78:00) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Executive Producer Jon Tolansky, working with Audio Restoration Engineer Lani Spahr, here issues the first-ever, live performance by Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1962) leading the Sibelius Symphony No. 1 from Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 17 August 1952. An organization calling itself Music Preserved, which holds a collection of historic recordings at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, donated the E Minor Symphony document. Jon Tolansky contributes to this fine set two previously unissued Sibelius readings (in mono sound) from 1947 of two Scènes historiques, of which the second piece suffers a cut in the score to accommodate the 78 rpm recording format limits of the period.  From the outset of Beecham’s broadcast performance of the E Minor Symphony, we can well understand the music’s appeal to this conductor, who so favored Sibelius’ influences from Tchaikovsky and Borodin – and perhaps Bruckner in the Scherzo – given the power […]