The collaboration between Neeme Järvi, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and BIS Records began with an ambitious project to record all of Sibelius's orchestral music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Carl Nielsen, the composer of Symphony No. 4 and No. 6, described his Fourth Symphony as expressing "the will to live" and his Sixth Symphony as striving for "the greatest possible simplicity" by portraying instruments as independent individuals.
Performer Biography
Neeme Järvi, the conductor on this album, began his international career in 1980 and became the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 1982.
Historical Context
Volvo, then a Gothenburg-based company, sponsored the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with eight million Swedish crowns over five years starting in 1982, allowing them to hire twenty additional musicians.
Cultural Impact
The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was appointed the National Orchestra of Sweden in 1997, recognizing its success as an ambassador for Swedish music and its high artistic level.
Compositional Technique
Eduard Tubin's Estonian Dance Suite includes a movement called 'Dans från Setu' which is based on three lively dances and an accordion melody found in the Setumaa area of southeastern Estonia.
Composer Biography
Eduard Tubin, an Estonian composer, fled to Sweden in 1944 due to the Soviet occupation of Estonia and later met the young conductor Neeme Järvi in Tallinn.
