Search - Jean Sibelius, Folke Grasbeck :: Jean Sibelius: Youth Productions for Solo Piano, Vol. 2

Worthy recordings of third-tier Sibelius

Michael Schell | www.schellsburg.com | 03/11/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To be blunt, you probably shouldn't buy this CD. It's of interest chiefly to Sibelius completists and scholars, and as such you're probably better off getting the five-CD Volume 5 from Bis's The Sibelius Edition, which gets you this and four other disks at a discount over buying them individually. Probably the only reason to buy this album is if you've already acquired one or two of the other individual CDs from the Bis series, and thus find it cheaper to fill out your collection that way rather than buying the aforementioned box set.



That said, Folke Gräsbeck seems a worthy tour guide through this collection of juvenilia. This disk picks up from Sibelius's student days and gives us a taste from his 20s. A short ternary Andantino in B major from 1888 is pretty, and might have been composed by a contemporaneous Russian composer. The brief Allegretto in B-flat minor that follows also stands out, and like many of these pieces, sounds like Grieg in places. Interestingly, the characteristic orchestral works of Sibelius's maturity rarely sound like Grieg, though the early ones, such as the First Symphony, clearly reflect the influence of Russian composers. A nice "Moderato - Presto" in D minor sets off a slow, homophonic melody with a passage featuring triplet arpeggios against a staccato repeated note in the bass, perhaps anticipating the middle movement from Sibelius's Piano Sonata in F major. A few more of the works from this time return us to the sound world of Grieg's Lyric Pieces (of which the Fourth Volume is contemporaneous). Examples include Sibelius's setting of Ellen Kackzell's "Oh, If you had Seen", which alternates solo piano with poetry recitations in Swedish by Lasse Pöysti. A Vivace in D minor, also from 1888, likewise could have come from Grieg, as could the fourth movement of the Florestan suite, despite the title's reference to Schumann.



Gräsbeck and Bis are to be congratulated for their devotion to this project and to Sibelius's music. By bringing the obscure corners of his output to light, anyone can assess the worth and historical position of his complete oeuvre. Gräsbeck seems secure in his playing, and if there's any criticism of the performances, it's that there's sometimes a lack of gradation. I haven't heard the competing recordings by Gisme and Servadei, but I'm not disappointed in the overall quality of Gräsbeck's interpretations. I have the MP3s from this album, rather than the CD edition, so I can't comment on the program notes, but the transfers sound fine, with no distortion, aliasing or other errors.



If you know why you want this CD, then you won't be disappointed in it. Otherwise, give it a pass in favor of Sibelius's "real" music.

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