Sibelius: Spring Song / The Bard / Three Pieces, Op. 96 / Presto for Strings / Three Suites

Featuring

Neeme Järvi
Masayo Matsuo
Gérard Schaub
Kenneth Wihlborg
Monica Einarson
Charlotte Forsberg

Christer Thorvaldsson
Göteborgs Symfoniker
Jean Sibelius

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Composer's Artistic Vision

While Sibelius's symphonies have little in common with Strauss waltzes, he made many attempts to emulate the Viennese dance music style in his shorter orchestral pieces.

Composition History

The Presto for string orchestra is a rearrangement by Sibelius of the scherzo from his String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 4, made four years after its original composition.

Composer Biography

Jean Sibelius, the composer, cherished a deep affection for the dance music of the Strauss family throughout his life, having studied in Vienna as a young man.

Compositional Technique

In his tone poem "The Bard," Sibelius works with an absolute minimum of material, creating a mood of highly-charged repose from just a few key motifs.

Historical Context

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, one of Scandinavia's oldest, was founded in 1905 and quickly achieved a leading position in Scandinavian musical life under Wilhelm Stenhammar.

Performer Biography

Neeme Järvi, the conductor, is the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and has recorded the complete orchestral music of Sibelius, Stenhammar, and Tubin for BIS records.