| Karelia | |
|---|---|
| Lottery music & suite by Jean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1891) | |
| Catalogue | JS 115 (full score) |
| Opus | 10 (overture), 11 (suite) |
| Text | Kalevala, Runo XIV; Svenska fornsånger, Vol. II |
| Language | Finnish, Swedish |
| Composed | 1893, arr. 1893 |
| Movements | 11 (JS 115); 3 (Op. 11) |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 13 November 1893 |
| Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | Helsinki Philharmonic Society |
Karelia, JS 115, is lottery music—comprising an overture, eight original numbers, and an arrangement of the Finnish national anthem "Maamme"—written in 1893 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Discography
editThe Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere recording of the complete Karelia tableaux music—the reconstruction by Kalevi Aho—in September 1997 for BIS Records.[1] The Kaipainen-reconstruction was first recorded in January 1998, by the Finnish conductor Tuomas Hannikainen and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra for Ondine. The table below contains details on these recordings:
| No. | Conductor | Ensemble | Rec.[a] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osmo Vänskä | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | 1997[b] | 50:00 | Ristinkirkko | BIS | |
| 2 | Tuomas Hannikainen | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | 1998[d] | 44:08 | Tampere Hall | Ondine |
In May 1987, for BIS, the Finnish pianist Erik T. Tawaststjerna made the world premiere recording of Sibelius's piano transcription of the Karelia Suite (Nos. 1−2 only).[2] The table below contains this and other recordings of Sibelius's piano transcription:
| No. | Pianist | Rec.[a] | Runtimes[f] | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik T. Tawaststjerna | 1987 | 10:20 | Danderyd Grammar School | BIS | |
| 2 | Folke Gräsbeck | 2003 | 9:49 | Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm | BIS | |
| 3 | Henri Sigfridsson | 2007 | 10:46[i] | Hans Rosbaud Studio | Hänssler Classic |
The Finnish conductor Jussi Jalas and the 'Finlandia Orchestra' made the world premiere recording of the Karelia Overture in 1956 for Fennica records.[3] The sortable table below contains this and other commercially available recordings of the Overture:
| No. | Conductor | Ensemble | Rec.[a] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Neeme Järvi | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | 1982 | 7:46 | Gothenburg Concert Hall | BIS | |
| * | Kurt Masur | Gewandhausorchester Leipzig | c. 1986 | 7:54 | ? | Teldec |
Suite
editThe Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus and the London Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere recordings of the Nos. 1 and 3 (the Intermezzo and Alla marcia in 1930 for HMV.[4] No. 2 (Ballade) was first recorded in 1952 by the Danish conductor Thomas Jensen and the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, for Decca Records. (Jensen was also the first to record all three numbers of the suite together.) The sortable table below contains this and other commercially available recordings the complete Karelia Suite:
Notes, references, and sources
edit- Notes
- 1 2 3 4 Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
- ↑ This recording utilizes the reconstruction by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho.
- ↑ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–915) 1997
- ↑ This recording utilizes the reconstruction by the Finnish composer Jouni Kaipainen.
- ↑ T. Hannikainen–Ondine (ODE 913–2) 1998
- ↑ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
- ↑ E. Tawaststjerna—BIS (CD–366) 1987
- ↑ F. Gräsbeck—BIS (CD–1272) 2006
- ↑ Excludes Sigfridsson's recording of No. 3, which is an arrangement by Otto Taubmann.
- ↑ H. Sigfridsson—Hänssler Classic (CD 98–261) 2007
- ↑ N. Järvi–BIS (CD–222) 1987
- ↑ K. Masur–Teldec (8.43241) 1987
- ↑ Y. Levi–Telarc (CD–80095) 1984
- ↑ K. Schermerhorn–Naxos (8.550103) 1988
- ↑ P. Sakari–Naxos (8.554265) 1999
- ↑ P. Inkinen–Naxos (8.572704) 2011
- ↑ T. Hannikainen–Ondine (ODE 871–2) 1996
- ↑ L. Segerstam–Ondine (ODE 878–2) 1996
- ↑ A. Davis–Chandos (CHSA 5134) 2014
- ↑ N. Järvi–BIS (CD–250) 1984
- ↑ This recording utilizes baritone vocals in No. 2.
- ↑ O. Vänskä–BIS (CD–918) 1999
- ↑ G. Rozhdestvensky–Cirrus (CICD 1002) 1986
- ↑ V. Ashkenazy–Decca (417 762–2) 1988
- ↑ N. Marriner—Philips (412 727–2) 1985
- ↑ O. Kamu—DG (427 204–2) 1989
- References
- ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 34.
- ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 37.
- ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 35.
- ↑ Dahlström 2003, p. 36.
- Sources
- Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
- Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.