Scenes from the Kalevala

[sdtom]

A new BIS 2371 recording. Has anyone listened to it?

[Alan Howe]

Excerpts available here:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9250913--scenes-from-the-kalevala

[dhibbard]

saw that today...  actually have the recordings from long ago from the various composers, but this like a fresh recording... just added it to my shopping cart.

[TerraEpon]

Including a world premiere of the specific version of the Sibelius....previously it was listed as "Not performable"....I wonder why the booklet doesn't go into detail about why this has changed, and if anyone had a hand in reconstruction or whatever.

With that in mind, the only piece I have is the Klami, so for sure I'll check this out (and at the least, would have to get the Sibelius digitally for completion purposes).

[jasthill]

Interesting, this makes the fourth CD from BIS with the Sibelius Lemminkäinen suite. Four versions of the suite are referenced in the notes of the current CD 1895, 1897, 1901, 1939.

Perusing the BIS Lemminkäinen Suite history we have:
1985 - BIS CD-294 Järvi Gottenberg Symphony no version listed (15'41)
1999 - BIS-1015 Vänskä Lahti Symphony with 1939 (17'41), flowed by movements I and IV from the original version, followed by appendices of III (1896) (1'35)
2014 - BIS-1745 Vänskä Lahti Symphony showing versions 1896, 1897, 1939 but no version listed (16'07)
1986-2007 - BIS-1900 The Sibelius Edition Tone Poems Vol. 1 Vänskä Lahti Symphony using the reconstructed 1896 version by Colin Davis (22'07), Vänskä Lahti Symphony using the 1939 version (17'41)
2021 - BIS 2371 Slobodeniouk with the 1897 version (15'57)

Well you can accuse Sibelius of imitating Bruckner with these innumerable revisions. Maybe something in the lagers in those Wein beer halls carried over and made composers have second thoughts or maybe it was the helpful advice of solicitous critics. (re: see Sibelius's quote on statues and critics).

My first introduction to the Lemminkäinen Suite came on a 1968 Nonesuch LP with Lukas Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic featuring a gorgeous bi-fold cover with slightly naughty images for that time.

[CelesteCadenza]

Interesting, this makes the fourth CD from BIS with the Sibelius Lemminkäinen suite. Four versions of the suite are referenced in the notes of the current CD 1895, 1897, 1901, 1939.
Perusing the BIS Lemminkäinen Suite history we have...

Clarifying this a bit: the new Slobodeniouk BIS CD contains only one movement of Sibelius' Suite, the 1897 version of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela,  op 22#2  or, post 1939, op 22#3

[CelesteCadenza]

My first introduction to the Lemminkäinen Suite came on a 1968 Nonesuch LP with Lukas Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic featuring a gorgeous bi-fold cover with slightly naughty images for that time.

Naughty boys piqued by jasthill's reference to the cover art of Foss' classic recording, can regale themselves in this relatively high definition pdf:
https://ia804501.us.archive.org/34/items/lp_4-legends-from-the-kalevala-op-22_jean-sibelius-buffalo-philharmonic-orchest/lp_4-legends-from-the-kalevala-op-22_jean-sibelius-buffalo-philharmonic-orchest.pdf

Unfortunately, only 30 sec snippets of each movement of that recording are available:
https://archive.org/details/lp_4-legends-from-the-kalevala-op-22_jean-sibelius-buffalo-philharmonic-orchest

[jasthill]

Addendum:
These links show better illustrations of the salacious bits of the gatefold cover.
https://www.discogs.com/master/259209-Jean-Sibelius-Buffalo-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Lukas-Foss-4-Legends-From-The-Kalevala-Op-22
(Hint - hit more images.)
https://classicalmusicselloff.weebly.com/store/p2132/Sibelius%2F4_Legends_from_%27The_Kalevala%27_-_Buffalo%2FFoss.html
(You can zoom in)
Gene Szafran is the artist who created this cover and two other gatefold covers (Iannis Xenakis - Krzysztof Penderecki), (John Cage - Lukas Foss) for the other LP's Nonesuch used for their recordings of Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

I understand that there exists in the internet etherworld is a complete digital rip of the Sibelius album.

[TerraEpon]

Clarifying this a bit: the new Slobodeniouk BIS CD contains only one movement of Sibelius' Suite, the 1897 version of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela,  op 22#2  or, post 1939, op 22#3

To clarify more:

'Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island' has versions from 1896, 1897 and 1939. 1897 is supposedly "not performable".
'Lemminkainen in Tuonela' has versions from 1896, 1897 and 1939. The 1896 version has some part lost which were reconstructed by Colin Davis, and 1897 is this new recording (which again, used to be considered "not performable").
'The Swan of Tuonela' has versions from 1896, 1897 and 1900 but only the 1900 one survives.
'Lemminkainen's Return' has versions from 1896, 1896 and 1900, all of which survive intact.

[semloh]

Complicated, ain't it!