Sibelius: Orchestral Works – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner

July 16, 2021, 9:00 am

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Following their acclaimed recordings of Schoenberg and Britten’s Peter Grimes, Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic turn their attention to the music of Sibelius. Written in 1913 for the singer Aino Ackté, the tone poem Luonnotar draws on text from the Finnish national epic poem, the Kalevala. Its virtuosic demands are ably met here by award-wining soprano Lise Davidsen, who is also featured in the Suite from Pelleas and Melisande, music re-worked by Sibelius from his incidental music written for the first performances of Maeterlinck’s play in Helsinki in 1905. The tone poem Tapiola, from 1926, is Sibelius’ last great masterpiece and evokes the forests of his native Finland. The program is completed by a pair of much earlier works, Rakastava (The Lover) and Vårsång (Spring Song).