Composer: Jean Sibelius
Performer: Riho Eklundh
Orchestra: Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Leif Segerstam
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Release: 2015
Size: 1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Swanwhite
Act I
01. Largo: En hornsignal i fjarran
02. Comodo: Tyst duvan, min prins kommer
03. Adagio: En svan flyger forbi
Act II
04. Lento assai: Nar modern har stally harpan pa bordet
05. Adagio: Da drager en vit svan forbi
06. Lento – Comodo – Lento – Allegro: Svanevitsmoder: Och vi rakas pa gronskande ang
07. Andantino: Harpan tystnar ett ogonblick och tar sa upp en ny melodi
08. Andante: Prinsen ensam
09. Lento: Styvmodern: Har min konst svikit mig, eller hur
10. Moderato: Nar prinsen lagger sig i sangen
Act III
11. Allegretto: Nar konungen gar
12. Largamente: Prinsen (Konungen): Eld pa borgen
13. Adagio: Svanevit: Ma de komma fort ty de maste komma
14. Largamente molto: Svanevit – Prinsessan: Jag tror, jag vill, jag ber
The Lizard, Op. 8
15. Scene 1: Adagio
16. Scene 2: Grave
17. Ett ensamt skidspar (The Lonely Ski Trail), JS 77b
18. Grevinnans konterfej (The Countess’s Portrait), JS 88 (version with narration)
Recorded: 2014
Recording Venue: Turku Concert Hall, Turku, Finland
So great was the effect of Sibelius’s incidental music for Maeterlinck’s play ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ that August Strindberg, whose wife had performed the role of Mélisande, agreed that he should write the music for his as-yet unperformed play Svanevit (Swanwhite). Composing for an orchestra of thirteen, he wrote in a style reminiscent of Grieg, and both play and music were very well received by critics and audiences alike.
The play Ödlan (The Lizard) inspired Sibelius with its dreamlike atmosphere, while Ett ensamt skidspår (A Lonely Ski Trail) and Grevinnans konterfej (The Countess’ Portrait) show his skill in writing for drama on a miniature scale.
Leif Segerstam is a conductor, composer, violinist and pianist with a prominent international career. Since 2012 he has been Chief Conductor of Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. From autumn 1997 to spring 2013 Leif Segerstam was Professor of Orchestra Conducting at the Sibelius Academy. He was awarded the 1999 Nordic Council Music Prize for his work “as a tireless champion of Scandinavian music” and the Swedish Cultural Foundation’s Prize for Music in 2003. In 2004 Leif Segerstam was awarded the annual Finnish State Prize for Music and in 2005 the highly esteemed Sibelius Medal. He has gained wide acclaim for his many recordings with different orchestras. While pursuing his conducting career, Segerstam has also produced an extensive oeuvre as a composer.