Hi Folks
just bought the above. SOme interesting pieces - The Lizard, The Countess's Portrait,Lonely Ski Trail....still digesting but very interesting...any one else know these pieces?

Dave

That's the CD with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and Juha Kangas, I imagine. For my taste the recorded sound is a bit edgy, but Kangas is a fine musician and really gets the OCO to play vividly throughout.

It's a very useful anthology in terms of repertoire, not least because it is incomparably the finer of the two recordings of The Lizard so far released. Why? Because Kangas rightly treats the score as a big piece of chamber music rather than a cut-down orchestral work. Apparently he really did play it with Sibelius's recommended (!!) complement of 9 players, even though that often means 2 strings to a part, very uncomfortable to play and usually to listen to as well! And it is only when you listen to The Lizard as chamber music that it starts to become beautiful. All that mood music without the dialogue of Lybeck's play is never going to work well in concert, but there are plenty of subtleties that get lost if a larger body of strings is used.

For reference, the other recording (with chamber orchestra strings) is by the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra, Essen, and is a fair bit quicker and less sensitive - which in a score like this is dangerously close to being dull.

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I dont think that Sibelius's delightful 'Romance in C ' for String Orchestra opus 42 [1903] has had a mention on the forum. I first fell in love with this piece many years ago when it was included in a Anthony Collins LP 'Early masterpieces of Sibelius'. Its an ideal introduction to Sibelius. The opening is passionate and questioning and then leads us into the middle part, a kind of 'Nordic Serenade' with a relaxed atmosphere before the opening idea returns.
Even in a modest and genial work like this romance, Sibelius can surprise us. The opening unaccompanied theme suggests that the piece is going to be in E minor, but this impression is contradicted when the themes final note [E] is harmonised with a C major chord. Anyone else know this lovely piece?.--kp

Right - I can't imagine why it is so rarely performed - not even especially difficult for the orchestra, at least technically! Might make a super encore.

kullervopete wrote:

I dont think that Sibelius's delightful 'Romance in C ' for String Orchestra opus 42 [1903] has had a mention on the forum.

On June 1st 2006, a rather auspicious date at the forum, I started

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thread, where I do indeed mention the Romance in C. The ZSO played it at the opening of our all-Sibelius 50th anniversary concert, we still use it here and there when we need a short piece.

For the detailed thread about that concert, click

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, you may be surprised to find that the link to the embassy's article is still alive!

Ah yes, I had overlooked your all-Sibelius 50th anniversary concert, and indeed the Romance in C was an ideal piece to open the concert. I was thinking that for a composer who got such marvellous sounds from the strings, Sibelius should write so little for the strings alone.--kp