Sibelius
Symphony No. 5; Swanwhite Suite etc
Christian Tetzlaff (violin); Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Nicholas Collon
Ondine ODE 1468-2 77:16 mins
Clip: Sibelius – Symphony No. 5: Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato (ma poco a poco stretto)
One of the features of Finland’s impressive music education system is the steady flow of conductors it continues to produce. So it is interesting that the chief conductor of the nation’s leading radio orchestra has for several years now been England’s Nicholas Collon. Whether or not there were ever any raised Finnish eyebrows about this, the level of music-making presented here tells its own story. This is a Sibelius recording that’s up there with the finest of any era.
For all its relative simplicity of harmony, melody and rhythm by 20th-century standards, Sibelius’s idiom has an indefinable intensity that is somehow built into the music’s way of unfolding. But these performances go far beyond relying on that quality. In the Fifth Symphony, the introduction’s opening horn call and curling woodwind phrases, superbly played in themselves, instantly announce an interpretation that’s beautifully detailed, unerringly paced, and exceptional in its sureness of purpose.
The second movement’s understated, even poker-faced manner seems almost wilfully to risk coming across as perfunctory; here the opposite is true, yet this memorable vividness is achieved without any exaggerated point-making. And the finale’s sweep and momentum are brilliantly conveyed. The incidental music for Strindberg’s play Swanwhite showcases Collon’s wonderful touch with this small-scale side of Sibelius, conjuring spellbinding atmosphere and poise in ‘The Harp’ and ‘Listen, the Robin sings’. And in the two groups of violin-and-orchestra pieces – short, yet strikingly imaginative – Christian Tetzlaff’s top-drawer solo playing caps a remarkable release. Malcolm Hayes