Search - Sibelius, Salonen, Phl :: Symphony 5

Salonen and Sibelius: A Match to be Savoured!

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 05/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though this recording is 14 years old (made in 1990 when Salonen was just 30 and in his emerging status as a great conductor) the melding of minds of these fellow countrymen -Sibelius/Salonen/Finland - is evident. The Symphony No. 5 glows with a radiance missing in most conductor's hands, and Salonen's tempi are not rushed and yes, even at times a bit slow. Now, in 2004, Esa-Pekka Salonen performs the 5th with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with greater attention to inner voices, far superior orchestral response (in part due to the finer LA Phil compared to the London Philharmonia on this recording), more majesty, and an almost unbearable tension in the pauses that end the final movement. Salonen is now at the top of the conductorial heap as a Sibelius interpreter. This is when the entire symphonic cycle should be committed to CD - hopefully recorded in the Walt Disney Hall acoustic that allows every whisper and shout to be savoured."

Highly controlled Sibelius from a young Salonen

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 07/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Salonen and Simon Rattle were both acclaimed conductors before they turned thirty, yet if you compare this 1990 Sibelius Fifth from London with Rattle's Fifth on EMI, you may be surprised to find that it's Salonen who is more controlled, intense, and searching. No woner Sony has stuck by him for nearly two decades, treating him as their Nordic Boulez, a hip, analytical modernist who is also a composer. He isn't analytical here, although there is much care taken to expose every inner detail.



The Gramophone reviewer found the interpretation vrey broad (it isn't: the first movement times out the same 14 min. as Karajan and Bernstein on DG) and not especially distinctive (in fact, it's full of individual touches). But there's no doubt that Salonen is slowish and in a serious mood throughout. The Philharmonia plays with commitment, although they don't rise to the level of the NY Phil. for Bernstein in his early Sony recording or the Berlin Phil. for Karajan. The filler, Pohjola's Daughter, stays at the same high standard and may be the most exciting thing here."

Wanna Be Depressed?

Moldyoldie | Motown, USA | 07/02/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"What must have been a purchase based on a glowing review of this recording from the late '80s turned into an unfortunate lasting eschewal of the popular Sibelius 5th by this then-novice listener. A musically savvy online acquaintance recently wrote: "I find that recording very interesting, surprisingly (for Salonen) expansive and brooding, very melancholic and expressive, but I am also impressed by the finely chiseled textures in the first movement." Yeah, brooding and melancholic -- that about sums up my feelings on Salonen's Sibelius 5th. As to its "expressive" qualities, it elicits nothing in me but abject depression. As I noted earlier, this was my first exposure to the 5th. "Gawd," I said. "What a Gloomy Gus!"



The recording is also too distant; the listener is seemingly in the last row of the balcony...listening through the pillow into which he'll eventually be sobbing.



It was a few years later that I picked up Malcolm Sargent's recording of the 5th with the BBC Symphony (Sir Malcolm Sargent conducts Sibelius Symphonies 1 & 5 (EMI)) from a record store cut-out bin -- what a difference! The tempos were upbeat and invigorating; the winds and horns called forth an awakening instead of a mourning; the playing was taut and lively and the recording was intimate with only a hint of unobtrusive late-'50s tape hiss. Here are the timings:



Salonen I. 14:00 II. 10:03 III. 9:27

Sargent I. 12:20 II. 8:34 III. 8:27



Perhaps to a non-musician and a then-Sibelian novice such as myself, these tempos made a world of difference. All I know is that I'd never recommend the Salonen to anyone not already intimately familiar with the 5th. I won't even pretend to argue its "Sibelian merits", if any. To the extent that this turned me off to immediately and seriously exploring further into the Sibelian symphonic canon, I must deem this to be a "Sibelian disaster".



It's interesting that I recently came across the following snippet in an article from the January, 1999 edition of Finnish Music Quarterly:



[QUOTE] Salonen recorded Sibelius' Fifth Symphony while still a young conductor. The recording is peculiar, to put it mildly. The maestro has himself admitted that he was able to strip the symphony of the usual mannerisms in the recording studio, but didn't quite have the time to develop an interpretation of his own to fill the void.



"In those days, CBS was pressuring me to record the whole cycle of Sibelius symphonies. I resisted because it felt too obvious. I was totally against doing it then," says Salonen of his situation in the mid 1980's.



Around that time, Salonen made the comment that his relationship with Sibelius was like 'a Bedouin's relationship with sand.' "I intentionally meant the allegory to be equivocal," laughs Salonen.[UNQUOTE]





I can listen to this Salonen Sibelius 5th recording today with a more experienced ear and find some arcane merit, but it certainly doesn't come easy! Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic on DG (Leonard Bernstein Conducts Sibelius (Collectors Edition)) take a similar ultra-expansive approach with the 5th, but at least Lenny knew when to hit the gas and reach for the heights; plus the DG recording is up close and personal, not distant and removed, albeit with a few strident moments during fortissimos. The more recent Segerstam/Helsinki Philharmonic recording on Ondine (Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5) is also similarly expansive, but it's also vividly recorded and certainly not "brooding and melancholic"!



For what it's worth, I like the coupled Pohjola's Daughter; Salonen's brooding approach seems to work here."