Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

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under Elder, [Pohjola's Daughter is] a primal folktale rather than an urbane fantasy...[in the Symphony] Elder's elemental strength, relieved by a sense of light and space and the Halle's intense... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2013, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 13th May 2013
Catalogue No: CDHLL7516
Label: Hallé
Series: Elder Sibelius Series
Length: 70 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

July 2013

Orchestral Choice

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Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49

Work length13:21

$2.00

$2.80

$3.50

Hallé Orchestra
Mark Elder

Sibelius: The Oceanides, Op. 73

Work length10:30

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Hallé Orchestra
Mark Elder

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

Work length47:00

Album only

Hallé Orchestra
Mark Elder

I. Allegretto

Track length10:30

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

II. Tempo andante, ma rubato

Track length14:43

$2.00

$2.80

$3.50

III. Vivacissimo -

Track length6:28

$1.00

$1.40

$1.75

IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

Track length15:19

Album only

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About

Following their recording of Symphonies No 1 and 3, this release marks the second disc of Sibelius works from the award-winning Hallé under Sir Mark Elder.

The disc includes the long awaited recording of Elder’s interpretation of the ever-popular Symphony No. 2, a work closely associated with the Hallé who gave the British premiere in 1905.

It is coupled with the dramatic Pohjola’s Daughter, an orchestral show-piece with the Hallé here at the height of its powers, and the less well known and deeply evocative musical portrait of the sea, The Oceanides.

Together, the performances of these works perfectly illustrate the renaissance that has been achieved at the Hallé under Sir Mark Elder.

The 2nd Symphony was recorded live from sell out concerts in the Bridgewater Hall, of which critics said:

“The Sibelius reading was more arresting still… The whole elaborate, superbly integrated argument never lost focus for a moment.” Sunday Times

Reviews

July 2013

under Elder, [Pohjola's Daughter is] a primal folktale rather than an urbane fantasy...[in the Symphony] Elder's elemental strength, relieved by a sense of light and space and the Halle's intense playing, help to make this highly recommendable.

August 2013

Elder is at his best in the first movment [of the Symphony] which, like the two tone-poems, is sensitively pointed and rhythmically supple, but the Andante seems to me to be holding something back...The precision of Elder's Pohjola's Daughter, with its carefully tiered dynamics...makes a much stronger impression and so does the hauntingly atmospheric Oceanides, which rises to a powerful climax.

22nd May 2013

Elder seems fully in tune with the true essence of the [Symphony] and his orchestra plays it very well indeed...there are three admirable Sibelius performances here. The orchestral playing throughout matches the very high standards that we’ve come to expect from this team.

12th May 2013

Under Elder’s nurturing aegis, the Hallé strings sound more enormous than ever in the slow movement, but they can scamper nimbly in the Vivacissimo scherzo...The cumulative power of the playing — and Elder’s certain grasp of the symphony’s architecture — builds to a powerful climax in this rapturously applauded live performance

16th May 2013

The Hallé strings conjure up wonderful dark hues in the opening of Pohjola, and a silvery lightness to underpin the dancing woodwind in The Oceanides. Elder's approach to the symphony is a measured, slow-burning one. He's careful not to ratchet up the drama too early

18th May 2013

Elder’s reading [of The Oceanides] is fabulous – the massive, crashing climax powerfully judged, the music on the edge of collapse for a few fleeting seconds...You’d buy this disc for the two tone poems...[the Symphony] isbrilliantly played, but it sounds a little too self-consciously epic and self-important.

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