Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 (1905) [30:23]
The Bard, Op. 64 (1914) [8:08]
The Wood Nymph, Op. 15 (1895) [24:05]
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/John Storgårds
rec. Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, 19-20 Nov 2008 (concerto); 29 Jan 2010 (Nymph);
18 Mar 2010 (Bard). DDD
Booklet with liner notes in English, German, Finnish
ONDINE ODE 1147-2 [62:57]
Ondine and these artists start off with a considerable edge. The recording
technology has produced stunning results in the shape of 24 bit DXD (Digital
Extreme Definition). It’s the aural equivalent of high definition TV. Add
to this a recording of the Violin Concerto that is a very strong entrant in
stakes that are already crowdedly thronged. It jostles its way to near the
front rank. The Concerto has been blessed over the years. My own Hall of Fame
includes most recently Vilde Frang on EMI, Julian Rachlin on Sony (part of
the Maazel cycle), Haendel and Berglund on EMI, Oistrakh with Rozhdestvensky
on BMG and many other labels and Jan Damen on Eloquence. Zimmermann gives
one of those careful yet spontaneously vibrant readings which I associate
with Stokowski on a good day. The reading of this workforce simply holds the
attention when its warhorse credentials will tempt many into a sort of synthesised
competence. With Zimmermann emphases, slurs and caesurae are in place and
such eloquent punctilious attention adds a natural fresh quality. I have always
regarded The Bard as a companion to Luonnotar and the Fourth
Symphony. Kamu (DG Eloquence) stands at the other pole from Storgårds who
locates himself in the mainstream. This reading featuring the harpist Anni
Kuusimäki is pristine, sparse and dignified. It conjures a dreamy vision of
wandering harpers of yore. There is nothing Gallic or voluptuary about this.
Also impressive is the way the work emerges from silence – all works do this
but there is something specially poised about this recording. The tonal allure
is very impressive. We have long left behind the sort of raw deckle-edged
treble for which early CDs were condemned. As for The Wood Nymph it
is good to see it building a history on disc. It’s from the same era as the
Lemminkainen poems and En Saga. It’s a big, discursive and loosely
structured piece with more in common with En Saga than with the Lemminkainen
pieces. Its origins can be traced to a poem by Viktor Rydberg which also
gave birth to a song and a melodrama by Sibelius. Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony
made the premiere recording of this work in 1996 for Bis.
Rob Barnett
A good mix and a very good recording of the concerto.