Esa Pekka Salonen LA Variations, Sibelius: Symphony n°5

 

Esa Pekka Salonen LA Variations, Sibelius: Symphony n°5

Esa Pekka Salonen LA Variations, Sibelius: Symphony n°5
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Editorial
Product Description

Esa-Pekka Salonen, musical director of the Los Angeles Philarmonic Orchestra until summer 2009,
is one of the most brilliant conductors of his generation. He has recently taken up the position of
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.
Even though he studied at the Sibelius Academy, it took him years before considering
conducting works of Finland s emblematic composer, Jean Sibelius. 'To me, he says, an ideal
concert of Sibelius should not look like an interpretation, nor like any point of view. I would like it to
be like the shattering ice, during springtime, in a Northern river: intense, beautiful, terrifying and
inevitable. I am not sure if someone can ever do that, but we can at least try.' During Summer 2007 in Verbier, Salonen lead the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, and took up this
challenge in Sibelius' Fifth Symphony. His interpretation really evokes these ice blocks breaking
during springtime: intense, beautiful, terrifying and inevitable.
Before this unforgettable « Fifth » of Sibelius, Salonen, also a composer, conducts one of his own
works, L.A. Variations. Premiered in 1996 and commissioned by the Los Angeles Philarmonic
Orchestra, this piece has been especially written by Salonen in order to highlight the virtuosity
and the power of this orchestra.


Salonen fans need not hesitate
Review date: 2009-09-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a DVD recording of Salonen conducting a very good youth orchestra in his wonderful "LA Variations" and the Sibelius 5th. Its great to have his LA Variations on DVD and to see him conduct it. He is a great composer and this is one of his best. Now that he has left the LA Phil I am hoping he will create more music. The Sibelius is also wonderful. He gets fierce playing from the orchestra and the end of the first movement is very exciting. A great DVD. This is not a "thin" performance. No way.


Reviews


Bad Sibelius in a very thin performance
Review date: 2009-08-18 Rating: 4 out of 10

Salonen is a pretty good Sibelius conductor, but this orchestra is not very good. The brass in particular is weak and badly intoned. I know this symphony well from many notable recordings, and the balances here are off, as are the slow tempi in the first and third movements. The finale is anticlimactic - maybe this group is just too small in number. THe female tympanist is excellent, and the woodwinds are good, too, but the strings are very under-nourished. This DVD is only 56 mins. long, very poor value,and this includes an inconsequential piece of Salonen's. The only sound offered is stereo, almost unheard of in new recordings, no surround at all!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Salonen
Sibelius
UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra

Director(s):

Recording label: IDEALE AUDIENCE INTL
Manufacturer: IDEALE AUDIENCE INTL
EAN: 0899132000923
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen,
Release date: 2009-07-28
Universal product code (UPC): 899132000923
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: NR (Not Rated)
Running time: 56 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2008
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)

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