Turku Philharmonic Archive
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in c minor; LEIF SEGERSTAM: Symphony No. 288, “Letting the Flow go on…” – Turku Philharmonic Orch. /Leif Segerstam – Alba
Fine, sensitive performance of the Brahms. JOHANNES BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in c minor; LEIF SEGERSTAM: Symphony No. 288, “Letting the Flow go on…” – Turku Philharmonic Orch. /Leif Segerstam – Alba Records multichannel SACD ABCD390, 71:35 [Distr. by Albany] (7/29/16) ***: The first things I noticed about this new (and very good) rendition of the Brahms first is the cover. We get one of the best known photos of Johannes Brahms aside that of the physically quite similar composer-conductor Leif Segerstam (only Brahms looks less manic) The other thing that caught my attention immediately was the title and mere fact of the existence of Segerstam’s Symphony No. 288 (Two Hundred Eighty-Eight! …. Haydn and Hovhaness, move over). More on that. Segerstam’s rendition of the iconic Brahms Symphony No. 1 is quite good. While I really, really like a couple of the older versions, such as those by Giulini and von Karajan, this is a very nicely paced performance with great sensitivity to style. I found the second movement especially lovely. This is, in my opinion, one of the best symphonies by any composer, ever, and there are certainly and literally hundreds of recordings to choose from (because it’s a […]
SIBELIUS: Scaramouche – Soloists/ Turku Philharmonic Orch./Leif Segerstam – Naxos
Sibelius’ colorful theatrical score resplendently revealed. JEAN SIBELIUS: Scaramouche – Bendik Goldstein, viola – Roi Ruottinin, cello/ Turku Philharmonic Orch./Leif Segerstam – Naxos 8.573511, 71:01, *****: Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) wrote a large amount of music for the theatrical stage that deserves to be heard, and recordings are virtually the only way to hear them, unless you are fortunate enough to live in Finland. Most of these scores fall into the category of incidental music for plays and historical pageants—in the form of complete scores or suites that the composer arranged for concert performances. In his day, theatrical presenters employed orchestras to accompany their performances, some larger than symphony orchestras. These scores are the equivalent of movie music of today. Sibelius was adept at matching music with the atmosphere and emotion of a specific scene. His colorful orchestration and instrumental timbre made him one of the few major composers who excelled at writing incidental music. In 1912 Sibelius was commissioned by the Danish publisher Wilhelm Hansen to compose music for Poul Knudsen’s tragic dance pantomime Scaramouche. A few months later the composer received a revised libretto that included spoken dialogue and music for the complete pantomime rather than just a few […]
CHOPIN: “Grand Chopin” = Krakowiak – Grand rondeau de concert; Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brilliante; Grande fantaisie sur des airs Polonaise; Variations sur “La ci darem la mano” de Don Giovanni de Mozart – Janne Mertanen, p./ Turku Philharmonic Orch./ Jani Telaranta – Alba
Janne Mertanen brings the instinct of the poet to these works of the young Chopin.
AARRE MERIKANTO: Symphony No. 1 in b minor Op. 5; Symphony No. 3 – Turku Philharmonic Orch./ Petri Sakari – Alba
Two delightful Finnish symphonies, influenced by Sibelius but of a lighter and more zesty nature.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
