tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post7689043193139130048..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Sibelius's 'Virgin' Symphony?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-1246475613957227872011-11-08T09:05:51.341+00:002011-11-08T09:05:51.341+00:00Interesting: the delivery of the Third's middl...Interesting: the delivery of the Third's middle movement was what made it unique for me. Never thought of it in that profound way before.<br /><br />The question you raise had also occurred to me. I can speculate too, can't I, even though I tend to get my knuckles rapped. Dausgaard was one I'd be very happy with, Oramo is another...not sure how this would fit with his other orchestral posts.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-91409557377823126772011-11-08T06:06:47.555+00:002011-11-08T06:06:47.555+00:00I heard this BBC SO concert via iPlayer, and enjoy...I heard this BBC SO concert via iPlayer, and enjoyed it very much, with maybe the slight reservation that the middle movement of Sibelius 3 trod perhaps just a fraction too slowly. But never mind, since I'm a big Sibelius fan, and this is one of the two JS symphonies I haven't yet heard live.<br /><br />At the risk of pointless speculation (and you probably wouldn't be able to answer the question directly anyway), on the basis of this appearance, any chance that Sakari Oramo may be in the running to succeed Jiri B. at the BBC SO? Of course, a decision may already have been made, rendering the hypothetical question moot.Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05688490063600488617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-42422862539342116872011-11-04T11:30:52.376+00:002011-11-04T11:30:52.376+00:00Well, I shouldn't be snobbish and say Finlandi...Well, I shouldn't be snobbish and say Finlandia is to Sibelius what Pomp and Circumstance is to Elgar (ie excellent and up to a point characteristic, but 'public music'). Hope it will lead to the rich and the rare. My absolute favourite among the symphonies, FWIW, is the pure-spring-water Sixth.<br /><br />BTW, you're right about 'The Task at Hand' - another beautifully presented blog.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-59514032301291731642011-11-04T03:17:48.495+00:002011-11-04T03:17:48.495+00:00OK, now, I promise I won't keep this up as it ...OK, now, I promise I won't keep this up as it will get to be too, too much, but I must share these two things: our power came on just tonight--we've been without for almost a week--and I really think your Sibelius feast came as much-needed balm just as I was beginning to dread going back to a power-less house. <br /><br />At the same time, almost, a wonderful writer whom I also follow (The Task at Hand in my sidebar) wrote a lyrical post about using the extra hour conferred by the clocks falling back. I wrote to her about my precious hour with Sibelius, and this is what she wrote back: "It wasn’t difficult – combining Sibelius, Tardis and BBC in the search box brought up the David Nice review, which really was lovely. From there, I went on to “Finlandia”, which I haven’t listened to in ages. It was one of the first pieces of classical music I was introduced to, and I enjoyed listening again."<br /><br />All proving your point about "spiritual sustenance." To Sibelius, then: here, there, everywhere!Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-83727742595351189112011-11-03T23:20:25.434+00:002011-11-03T23:20:25.434+00:00Sue, you are almost too receptive to be real - tha...Sue, you are almost too receptive to be real - thank you. And you give as good as you take: love the elegant layout of your superb photos over on Prufrock's Dilemma (as I've said there; but I do urge folk to take a look, especially at the Hudson avian visitors through the seasons).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-59473349719335307232011-11-03T02:38:55.558+00:002011-11-03T02:38:55.558+00:00Thank you so much for the alert on the BBC3 broadc...Thank you so much for the alert on the BBC3 broadcast. I'll admit to skipping straight to Luonnotar, which I've now listened to 3 times with pleasure, and I've got a taste of the heavenly second movement of Symphony No. 3, though I must come back to hear the whole, as the hour grows late here. Hmmm, not the first gorgeous Andante or Adagio (read: Weinberg) about which you've tipped me off. Not to mention the ArtsDesk piece and the four Sibelius at home pieces--all of which I've now perused! A treasure trove of Sibelius goods, and a lovely way to end the evening. (Only glad I've decamped to our city digs and was able to find all this, as the power is still out at home.)Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-43014840359419164802011-11-02T11:06:05.495+00:002011-11-02T11:06:05.495+00:00Ta - I thought this was an interesting one, but if...Ta - I thought this was an interesting one, but if the grazers find it so, they're not shouting!<br /><br />Leon Botstein always programmes interestingly at Bard - what a polymath! Coincidentally I'll be only-connecting in Glasgow tomorrow, when I have to talk about 'the year 1911' - Sibelius 4, Rosenkav, Bluebeard's Castle, Webern, Elgar, Debussy...<br /><br />Last night, since our two musicians had to pull out from my BBCSO class, we revisited Luonnotar. What an extraordinary piece, and what an unsurpassable performance from Anu Komsi. I also have Mattila and (award winning) Isokoski, and they don't put it across with an ounce of her communication. Maybe you can still get the concert on the iPlayer (until Friday)? Or maybe it doesn't work in the States. Possibly the most impressive I've heard this year.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-45075595035682034472011-11-02T01:18:21.200+00:002011-11-02T01:18:21.200+00:00Condolences on your dental problems, what a bore!
...Condolences on your dental problems, what a bore!<br /><br />Did you know that Bard’s Summerscape this year featured Sibelius? We were sadly only able to attend one performance, though it was quite interesting: “From the Nordic Folk,” including works by Sibelius (Six Finnish Folksongs), Grieg, Grainger, Bartók, Szymanowski, Kuula, and Ravel, so a real potpourri. <br /><br />I was particularly interested in your statement that Sibelius “continues to give perhaps the greatest spiritual sustenance of any composer I know.” I tend to think of him as a composer whose music I know, when, in fact, I’ve heard only a handful of pieces, at best. Something else I look forward to correcting!Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.com